The Raven and the Flower
by SilverflowerXRavenpaw
Summary: The story of my Warriors cat...First fanfic so trying my best.
1. Prologue

**Tawnyflower**

I looked at my kits with adoring eyes. My litter had three perfect little balls of fur, Silverkit, Goldenkit, and Ashkit. Silverkit and Ashkit had their father's handsome pelt, but Goldenkit had my pelt. I couldn't imagine anything more wonderful than this first litter. Nothing could destroy my happiness.


	2. Chapter 1

**Tawnyflower**

"Mom, why are we born so tiny?" Silverkit asked.

"If they were bigger the nursery would overflow," I replied, amazed at how many questions kits were capable of asking.

"Why are apprentices six moons old?"

"That's the way it's always been," I said, in full knowledge of that being a lie. Sometimes explaining things got tiring. "Now go and play with the other kits, you need to stretch your muscles."

"But mom, I wanna stay with you!"

"Silverkit, the warriors are giving badger rides," a helpful queen exclaimed.

My beautiful kit was out of the nursery in an instant. "Thank you so much, Bristleface."

"Of course! I've been a queen enough times to know how exhausting kits can be!"

"All the same, you're a lifesaver." I looked off at Sillverkit, unsure of how to end the conversation. She and

Ashkit had their father's handsome coloration, a lovely grey and black stripe combination. They would be twins if Silverkit didn't have a white-tipped tail. I turned to look at Goldenkit. He had my dashing bronze pelt, and it shone wildly in the sun. I was sure he'd have the mate of his choice when he grew up.

I slowly rose from my position. I wanted to go outside, but I couldn't leave my kits for a second. "Come here kits, we're going outside today!"

"Are we really?" three excited voices came in unison.

"Of course. Follow me and stay close," I said, making sure to keep a especially close eye on Goldenkit. He had a tendency to wander, and I couldn't risk losing him to an animal.

Finally outside, I could see the beauty of the outside world. I hadn't remembered it as amazing as this, but it was newleaf. I sat down on a rock to watch me kits. They played in some leaves and chased a bug, obviously surprised when it curled into a ball. I kept close watch on Goldenkit.

I lied down and slowly drifted into a doze. I had never meant to, but the sun was so warm and I was surprisingly tired. Suddenly, I heard a piercing shriek. I was jolted awake to see Goldenkit and Silverkit, but no Ashkit. Where is he where is he where is he?

I ran off in the direction of the shriek to see a bloody mass. My beautiful Ashkit had found a hungry badger. Now I was the one shrieking, and I knew it was piteous. I wasn't far from camp, and before long a warrior found me. Seeing the badger and my kit, he called reinforcements to get me and my remaining kits back to camp and help him fend off the badger. I had thought my happiness would never end, but it just did.


	3. Suspense suspense

**Tawnyflower**

Back at the camp, everyone mourned. Even the smallest kits, who had no idea of what was going on, knew that something terrible had happened. The other queens tried to comfort me, but I thought I would never be happy again. Even the leader, Graystar, talked with me, making sure I was willing to go on. I would've given up on life right then had it not been for Silverkit and Goldenkit. For those two, I could always continue.

I went to work in finding something to remember Ashkit by. My kits spent their days playing with the others, but they stopped going on badger rides. I couldn't tell how much it hurt them, but I knew the loss of their brother must be nearly as hard on them as it was on me. I searched around the territory, finally settling on a nice smooth stone the color or Ashkit's pelt. This would be my final memory of my second kit.

"Mom, is Ashkit ever coming back?" "Sorry Goldenkit, but Ashkit is gone. He's not coming back, the badger is keeping him." "Mom, I know that the badger left for good. Grassstorm told me all about his attack." "Goldenkit, this is going to seem harsh, but I need to tell you-" "WHAT HAPPENED WHAT DID I MISS?" Silverkit suddenly yowled, rushing into the nursery. "Mom was about to tell me where Ashkit is," Goldenkit explained. "As I was saying, this is going to seem harsh, but I need to tell you someday. Ashkit is with StarClan now. He's dead. He's never coming back. He lives with his Warrior ancestors." "WHAT?!" Two surprised voices screamed at once. "How... how could you keep this from us? Why did they take him? Does he like it there? Why won't he come back?" "Well you two, they took him to Silverpelt because it's safe there. He's very happy there. It's always warm, and there's plenty of prey. He can play all day. Sometimes he misses us, but he tries to be happy because he knows we would want him to. He won't come back because he doesn't know the way. Only the ancestors know, and they aren't allowed to tell anyone." I felt bad lying to my kits so often, but I wasn't prepared to tell them the rest quite yet. And anyways, he probably was happy. I didn't know much about StarClan, but I knew it was good. "I think Goldenkit needs to cool down," Silverkit piped up. She was so calm. I wasn't sure if she had to be for Goldenkit or if she really didn't care. I hoped she was protecting her brother. A warrior without compassion was hardly a warrior at all.

Suddenly, Goldenkit rushed away. "I do need to I have to go I have to think be back soon." I hoped all of that was true. I got up to follow him, butt he rushed away too fast. It seemed all of the queens were in the way and all of the stones and branches in the forest came here to slow me. I had a terrible feeling. How could he just rush away after everything that had happened? The forest was dangerous, and I couldn't be there to protect my kit.


	4. Capture

**Goldenkit**

I ran through the forest, trying to calm down. I needed to think, I needed to find calmness. I kept going in what I thought was one direction so I could find my way back. _Ashkit's never coming back._ The thought rang cold and true, and I knew it would never leave me. I had seen him leave, I should have stopped him. I finally came to a nice clearing and sat down. I thought and thought, trying to find some way to justify myself. I decided that it was an accident, and I couldn't know there was a badger nearby, so I was ok. The sun had moved across the sky, and I knew that I should head home.

 _Well, here's a problem._ Home seemed a long way off. I had never been this far from camp before. I started walking wherever my paws left me, and suddenly I hit the edge of the forest. Some deformed giant ran up to me and scooped me in it's paws. I could hear my mother yowling, and I started to do the same, but the thing didn't care. It brought me inside i's den, where it was oddly light and awful.

Inside the den I realized I was pretty well off. After the first while of confusion, I saw I had a den far warmer and softer than the one back home, and plenty of delicious food. There was water, and cream, and I could do what I wanted. Most of all, I never had to face the fact that Ashkit's death was my fault-outside of my own guilt, of course. I could adjust to this life. I would be just fine.


	5. A Mother's Anguish

**Tawnyflower**

I finally got out of camp. It was all I could do not to run off randomly and start freaking out. _Catch his scent, he's probably all right._ I sniffed around and found it, so I followed it as fast as I could. I realized that he was walking in a very roundabout way. The poor kit had no sense of direction! Finally I reached a large clearing and figured he must be there, his scent as so strong, but he must have just left. Then I smelled it. His scent was heading towards Twolegsplace.

I reached the edge of the forest just in time to see a Twolegs snatch my baby. I screamed and ran towards it as fast as I could, but it was faster. I heard the screeches of my kit being ripped away from his life. I could never get him back from a Twolegs. He was just as lost as if he had died. I had heard that kittypets had very lush lives, and I hoped he would adjust. Maybe if he escaped I could even get permission to accept him back into the Clan. But right now I had duties, and I had to head back to my last kit. I wasn't losing this one.


	6. A Kit's Plan

**Silverkit**

"How long until I become an apprentice?" "You know Silverkit, most kits keep track of the days on their own," my mother replies. "But mom, I like you doing it for me. I like it when _you_ tell me. Please?" "All right. Three more days."

In reality, I didn't much care. I didn't want to have to leave my mom and I definitely didn't want to have to leave the camp. I was trying to seem calm, but I knew my mother worried about me. I worried about her, too. She was very protective of me and I knew why, but I was still worried she was going to exhaust herself. She hardly slept because she wanted to watch me through the night, and whenever one of us did anything the other had to too.

"When I become an apprentice, I can travel all over the forest, right?" Being an explorer was a dream of mine earlier, but now I didn't care. I just didn't want my mother to know I was upset. As long as she thought I was all right I knew I would be. "Silverkit, all the Clans aren't friends. You can travel through our territory, but not others. We're at war." My mother used to be mysterious but now she was blunt. She didn't want to risk giving me the shock that took Goldenkit from her, was my guess. "Well then, I'll have to stop that." I suddenly cared about stopping war. If I could be friends with all of the Clans, and all the Clans would be other Clans' friends, then we would work together. Fewer cats would die for so many reasons. I could be the one to start peace.

I got to making plans. My mom didn't know, since I never said anything out loud, but I knew a little bit about the forest. I knew that WindClan was the closest Clan to camp, so it would be my first priority to befriend. I figured I could just wait by the border one day until a patrol came along, do my best to look innocent, and ask to join it. They would probably let me patrol along our border since I wouldn't learn anything, and WindClan cats were semi-friends anyways. While we were walking I would talk with someone, hopefully another apprentice, and try to make friends. If I did, I would have a connection and we could work together to join Clans. It was far-fetched, but it might work.

 **So, I don't know how to do author's notes, but I think this is it. I know this part of the story seems far-fetched, I even mentioned it, but it's part of the plot. If you're going to criticize (which again, I don't mind) please make it about grammar, spelling, or a different part than befriending the other Clans.**


	7. A New Part of Life

**Random Onlooker**

"Let all cats old enough to climb the cave gather below the crevice."

Cats of all colors and many ages poured out from various places in the rock. One cat sat in a crevice, most likely the one titled simply "the crevice." He was large and grey, with green eyes. If he had wanted to he could disappear in the rock, but now he was standing out and making himself largely known. He had his chest out and his head held high.

"Silverkit, please step forward."

A small cat of no more than a year walked out from the crowd. She had a grey and black coat and blue eyes. Her tail had a peculiar white tip, and it was a wonder she hadn't been named after that. She stood in what appeared to be awe of the large cat.

"Silverkit, you are now six moons old and ready to become an apprentice. Do you promise to serve your Clan and fight for the Warrior Code?" "I do, Graystar," the younger cat replied." "Then Flowerfur, please step forward."

A beautiful black she-cat now stepped forward, seeming to have as much pride as the cat in the crevice. Her bright pink ears and nose shone brightly against her black fur, making it clear where she got her name. She approached the young cat and looked down at her with encouraging eyes.

"Flowerfur, you have shown strong will to fight for what is right and great strength in tracking. I trust you to pass these on to your apprentice," the leader continued, following the protocol for naming ceremonies. "I will, Graystar."

Flowerfur and Silverkit touched noses, Silverkit trembling with what could safely be assumed to be excitement.

"I hereby pronounce you Silverpaw!"

Caterwauls of excitement came from almost all the cats in the camp celebrating the new name. "Silverpaw! Silverpaw! Silverpaw!" Many cats went up and greeted the new apprentice, but she wiggled away as fast as she could to say goodbye to her mother.

"Mom, I have to sleep in the apprentice den now and do what my mentor wants, but I'll still see you when I can and I'll miss you!" "Silverpaw, I know. Go be with your mentor and meet the other apprentices."

Silverpaw left to meet the other cats and set up a nest in the apprentice den, while her mother watched lovingly from the warrior den. Nobody knew how much of an influence Flowerfur would have on her apprentice, or how true Graystar's words about fighting for what you thought was right were.


	8. The First Day Out

**Fixed it!**

* * *

"So, what are we doing today?" I asked as I walked with my mentor to the training clearing. We had both gotten up and eaten at the same time, so we decided to walk together.

"Well, I'll probably show you around the territory and teach you some hunting technique," Flowerfur said.

"Do you think we'll meet any cats from the other Clans?"

"Probably not. They don't usually come very close to our border, and even when they do we don't usually talk. But tell you what, if I see a friend of mine, I'll introduce you, ok?"

"I thought Clans didn't get along. How can you have a friend?"

"Well, during the Gatherings we meet cats from other Clans and sometimes make friends. Why do you care about this, anyways?"

"Well, my mom said the Clans weren't friends, but I thought if we worked together we could have less death. No war, better protection from badgers and foxes, and we could share our food when necessary. So I figured if I could make friends with a cat from a different Clan maybe we could get to know so many cats that we would ally between Clans. Do you think it'd work?"

"I think it's a good plan, and that the Gathering will be a great place to start. I'll try to convince Graystar to let you go to one soon," Flowerfur replied, surprised at her apprentice's calmness. All of her other apprentices had been hyper and anxious, but Silverpaw just wanted to help out her Clan.

"Yay, thanks! Where are we going first?"

"Let's go to the WindClan border and just walk along until we have to turn. We'll make our way around soon enough."

"Ok, sure!" We darted off in the direction of the border, and I had to push myself to keep up. _Why am I so much slower than her? I probably just have shorter legs. I'll get there. We passed the training clearing, and the old brook. I had never realized how large our territory was before. When we finally reached the WindClan border, I was nearly exhausted._

"Well, here we are," Flowerfur said.

"I didn't know our territory was so big!"

"It's pretty cool, isn't it? You know, I wanted to talk."

"What?"

"Well, you said that you wanted to befriend the Clans. Graystar said I should teach you to fight for what you think is right. Does he know about your plan?"

"I haven't told him, but he's probably figured it out. He's never said that to anyone before, has he?"

"Nope. I think he's supportive."

"Yay! Now which way are we walking?"

"Follow me." We walked off in a direction that seemed random to me, but I knew Flowerfur knew where she was going. It was a lot easier to travel now that we were walking and not running. I was surprised at how little she pointed out. When I was a kit I imagined this epic territory with dozens of amazing things, but so far I had mainly seen some gullies and a big pool. Flowerfur explained that it was a pond and not a puddle, and that it was a great source of water during droughts. I made a mental note that we had something to offer to the other Clans. Finally, we reached something interesting. It was Fourtrees. I had heard about this and fantasized about what it looked like, and so far it was the only thing that lived up to my expectations. The oaks were way taller than anything I had ever seen, even other trees, and the Great Rock was at least twice as tall as Graystar. How did they get up there every moon? I could smell lots of scents, and I was amazed at how close we were to other territories. If we took a single step wrong, we would be in a dangerous place and not in the safety of our territory. It was odd, and it made me think even more about my plan. Hopefully soon it wouldn't be dangerous.

We walked off, and I got a deep sense of foreboding. I didn't know what was wrong, but something definitely was. We walked and walked, and suddenly I realized what it was. We had just gone through a lovely clearing that would be very nice to a certain Goldenkit, and we were getting closer to Twolegsplace with every step we took. "Do we have to go this way? I know what's over there."

"Hm? What's wrong?"

"I don't like Twolegsplace."

"Your mom told me that, but she never told me why. What's up with it?"

"Didn't the news spread all over the Clan? A monster from there took Goldenkit."

"Oh. Your mom never said what happened to him, and none of us ever pushed. Come on, there's nothing interesting left along the border, let's go back to camp and get something to eat."

"Ok! Thanks for understanding."

"Silverpaw, of course I understand. Anyone would. Don't worry and don't be ashamed. Let's go." We ran back, but I had a second wind. I wanted to get away from that awful spot. I hoped I would never have to patrol that border or see a monster. It was too awful.


	9. Training

**Silverpaw**

It was my first day of actual training, and I was ready. I was going to do whatever Flowerfur wanted me to do so I could become a Warrior and travel the territory freely. I quickly ate my breakfast of a mouse and ran to the clearing. I got there before Flowerfur so I started playing with a leaf. When I heard I sound, I jumped nearly all the way across the clearing.

"Well, hello Flowerfur." "Hi Silverpaw! A bit jumpy today, aren't we?" "Maybe," I replied, looking at my feet. I never knew how to respond to questions like that. Of course I'm jumpy, but I can't just not reply. "Oh well. Let's work on hunting skills today. How do you stalk a mouse?

I rolled my eyes. Even kits knew how to stalk a mouse. Was this just protocol or did Flowerfur think I was stupid? "You have to step extra lightly when stalking mice since they can sense vibrations in the ground."

"Very good Silverpaw. How do you do that?" "You have to put all the weight in your haunches." "Very good. Show me your best mouse stalk."

I got up and carefully walked in my best mouse stalk. I had practiced this a little when I was a kit so I knew I should be doing pretty well. Suddenly, there was a force on my side and I was on the ground.

"Just kidding," Flowerfur said with a laugh. "We're practicing fighting skills today. Rule 1: Always keep your guard up."

Flowerfur got off my back and I rolled to my feet, launching myself at her back. She stepped away smoothly and turned around.

"You didn't think I would get caught by that, did you?" she said with a teasing glint in her eyes. "That was a basic attack. If you're going to try to use the element of surprise, you have to be surprising! Anyways, do you know how to do a basic swat?"

I got on my haunches and swatted at the air, keeping my guard up. I wasn't going to be sneak attacked again. Flowerfur looked at me approvingly and sat down. I kept batting at the air, waiting for her to say something, when she stepped in front of me. "Do you know how to counter a bat?" she asked.

"Well, I always figured I could just get out of the way and then tackle my opponent," I replied, curious. "You could do that, but it's better just to roll with the hit and swat them back. Here, you keep batting and I'll show you."

I started batting at the air again, being careful not to get into a rhythm, and she stepped in front of me, slowly walking closer. I finally felt my paw collide with her shoulder when she twisted away and batted my face. I fell backwards, and she pinned me down. "All right, all right, you win. You're supposed to twist away?"

"Yep!" she replied with an excited glint in her eyes. "Here, you try."

She started batting at me, and I slowly walked up to her. She kept batting, and I trusted that this time there wouldn't be a surprise. Her paw hit my shoulder and I twisted and swiped her face. She recoiled but didn't fall down. "There, like that!" she said, surprising me with the sudden praise. "You're getting it!"

"Ok. What else am I going to learn today?"  
"Well, you seem to have no idea what to do if somebody gets on top of you, so I'll train that. Tackle me and I'll let you get me down, and then I'll show you."

I ran up and tackled her, and true to her word, she toppled down to the ground with me on top of her. Then she rolled over and squashed me beneath her, and I felt the air leaving my lungs. "That's how you get an opponent off you," she exclaimed, standing up. "It works most of the time, but if they're really persistent you might have to do more."

She lunged at me and I went down with the force. Then I rolled over on top of her, but she didn't get off. _She wants me to figure this one out,_ I suddenly realized. I rolled partway over, thinking that if she couldn't breathe she would have to let go. After a while she released her grip, and I got up triumphantly. "How was that?"

"That was pretty good. I would've just rolled over again and tried to bite at you, but you certainly surprised me."

I was very happy to hear the praise, and the small joke she had hidden in there. "What else should I work on?"

"Well, tomorrow we'll probably work on kicking and perfecting your tackling, since you need that, but for today let's go back to camp and get something to eat. You need to go play with your friends or something."

She turned to go back to camp, and I followed wordlessly. I was pretty tired out from the sparring, and hunger was starting to gnaw at my stomach. I picked a partridge out of the fresh-kill pile and plucked off the feathers, delivering them to my mother's nest. I did that every time I ate a bird, since I wanted her to be comfortable. She still hadn't realized that it was me, but she seemed plenty grateful for the extra cushion. I ate and went to talk with my friends, happy that today had been such a successful day.


	10. A New Hope

**Silverpaw**

I looked at the sky anxiously. Tonight was the night of the full moon, and the Gathering. Flowerfur had said that she would try and get me permission to go to the Gathering, as a mission. If I could go it would be great for making allies in other Clans.

She was talking with the leader, and while their voices never rose, I knew conflict was bound to happen. Graystar would be against such a young apprentice going, but Flowerfur was determined and strong. Either option was likely. When Flowerfur finally came out of the leader's den I practically leapt across the clearing to her in excitement. "How did it go?" I asked, steeling myself for the worst.

"Well, I have some good news and some bad news. The bad thing is, not this month."

I was upset by this, but the mention of some good news intrigued me. Putting on a straight face, I prodded her on. "What's the good news?"

"Graystar promised that you could go next month," she responded, looking almost as excited as I felt. This was just a minor setback, I knew.

"Ok! Are you going to this Gathering?"

She looked upset and nodded. "Yes. Graystar wanted me to."

"All right. Can I have your permission to go hunting before you go?"

"Um, sure!" she replied, seeming surprised by my calmness.

"Well, it's just, hunting's fun and I may as well. Bye!" I ran off, into the woods. I hunted for a while, catching a mouse and a squirrel, and then started walking towards Twolegplace. I liked going there to think, and to get closer to my brother. Of course, it was still a bit scary with the abduction and all, but it was a good place to clear my head.

This time, to my surprise, there was a kittypet sitting on a fence. I knew I shouldn't leave my territory, but the idea of meeting a new cat was to good to pass up on. I walked up to him, cautiously, and introduced myself. "Hi! I'm Silverpaw. What's you name?"

He jumped at the sound, and I was surprised. I hadn't been stalking quietly-or stalking at all. In fact, from my perspective, I had walked pretty loudly. He must be an elder.

"What are you doing? I'm not in your forest," he responded defensively.

"I didn't say you were," I said, confused. After a couple moments of silence, I realized that I probably seemed like a mean, feral wildcat to him. "Oh, I'm friendly by the way. I was just hoping to make a new friend."

"All right," he said nervously. "I'm Creamy."

Stifling my laughter at such an odd name, I tried to continue the conversation. "What's it like, being a kittypet?"

"It's nice. I get to eat all I want and sunbathe a lot."

"It sounds really good."

"What's it like being a wild cat?"

"Well, sometimes I'm hungry, but other than that it's really good. The food is delicious and I get to run around all I could want. By the way, have there been any new kittypets recently?"

"Well, how long ago? Kittypets come and go a lot around here."

"Five moons and seven days ago," I said, rushing. If my brother was alive I might be able to see him.

"Well, that's a specific date, but I'll try and remember... Let's see.." He trailed off, muttering to himself, and I thought he had spaced out. "HA!" he suddenly exclaimed, making me jump from my spot. "Pretty near then there was a tom. Small little thing, couldn't be older than a month. I assumed that's what a moon means by the way, with the way the moon works and all. Anyways, he was pretty young and he had lovely golden fur. He screamed up a storm though. Wouldn't stop going on about needing to be with his brother. Why do you ask?"

"He's my brother," I replied, stunned. _My brother is alive._ "You wouldn't happen to know where he's staying?"

"Well, no, I wouldn't but tell you what. You come around here again and I'll try and find out before then. All right?"

"Yeah." It was all I could manage to force from my lips. He leapt away and I took it as my call to leave. I walked home, slowly, and nearly forgot to get my prey. When I returned to camp I saw to my relief that no one had missed my, and I deposited my squirrel on the fresh-kill pile, eating the mouse.

I went to bed and had vivid dreams of reuniting with my brother. I would have to tell my mother sometime, but until I was sure he was ok I shouldn't get her hopes up.


	11. Duck Season

**So... I am super scatterbrained. This story may seem to be going nowhere and honestly it will wander a lot, but I'll try and go somewhere.**

 **Silverpaw**

I got up and went to the fresh-kill pile, selecting a plump mouse from the fresh-kill pile. I ate it, trying to see if I had anything planned today. I had the nagging feeling that I was forgetting something, but I couldn't place my paw on it. I went to Flowerfur, the annoyance still nagging at me, and got ready for whatever she had to throw at me. Flowerfur was a weird mentor and I wouldn't be surprised if she tackled me from a tree.

To my delight, she walked into the training clearing like a normal cat. She looked at me, tense with excitement, but sagged when I didn't seem to have her joy. "What wrong?" she asked, worriedly.

"What do you mean? Everything's all right... Oh!" My eyes lit up as I realized that I must look upset because of the feeling of forgetfulness. "I feel like I'm forgetting something but I can't remember what it is..."

"Well, there is something exciting happening. I hear a lot of cats are _gathering_ to it."

"Seriously Flowerfur? What are you talking about?"

"I hear it's going to be a _full_ camp."

"Ok, I know you're hinting at something, obviously, so don't tell me..." My head shot up from my concentrated position when I realized what it was. "The Gathering?" I asked, my eyes flashing.

"Yep! Do you remember what happened last moon?" She asked with a playful glint in her eyes.

"Yeah! Graystar said I couldn't go but I could go next moon, and this moon is last moon's next moon so I get to go!"

"Yep. Now come on, we should get some hunting done before we go."

"Ok!" I agreed as we walked off to the big pond. Flowerfur had told me that it was a great hunting spot, and though she always had me hunt other places in the past I trusted her. When we got to the pond it was proven that my instincts were correct.

The pond was surrounded by the rustlings of prey, but I could hardly concentrate over thoughts of the Gathering. I started absentmindedly stalking a vole when I brushed the grass and it ran away. I looked at Flowerfur reassuringly. We couldn't talk but I knew she was worried. I always stalked voles exceptionally carefully since they were my favorite. I hoped that I had gotten my message across; I was just distracted. I set off to stalking again, this time smelling a new scent. I waved my tail at Flowerfur and she came over curiously. "What is it?" she asked.

"What's that scent?" I responded, gesturing with my nose to where the new smell was.

"Oh. That's rabbit. They're really fast, but they're big. Let's try to catch it. You stay here and stalk it, I'll loop around. If it runs at you dodge. Just try to chase it towards me."

I nodded and set off, slowly following the trail. I walked extra carefully this time, remembering how I had just spooked a vole. All thoughts of the Gathering had to be pushed out of my mind or I would spook this rabbit-a big piece of prey. I didn't know what it looked like, but it must be cool if we went to all this trouble for it. Then I saw it: A beautiful white creature with long ears. I figured that this must be what we were looking for, since the scent lead almost straight to it. I walked up to it, and after seeing Flowerfur nod at me, deliberately rustled some grass.

The creature ran straight at her with incredible speed. It was almost as big as I was and I was worried for Flowerfur's safety. Finally, she tensed and lunged at it, breaking it's neck. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw she hadn't gotten herself killed. She dragged it over to me with bright satisfaction in her eyes. "That, my apprentice, is how you catch a rabbit. Let's go back to camp, I caught some things and we caught this rabbit."

"Well, okay," I said warily. I hadn't caught anything on my own so I wasn't sure this could be considered a success on my part.

"Don't worry Silverpaw, whether or not you catch anything on your own it's always a big deal when cats bring back rabbits. They're kind of rare around here."

"Ok," I said, this time confidently. I picked up Flowerfur's prey and she got the rabbit, and we trudged slowly back to camp, weighed down by Flowerfur's load.

When we reached camp I plopped our prey down on the fresh-kill pile. I puffed up my chest as I heard gasps of surprise from the kits and even a couple apprentices. Everyone was amazed at the large rabbit. Flowerfur had told me on the way back to camp that this was a rather large rabbit, and judging by the Clan's reactions that was an understatement. I brought it to the elders, figuring they would like such a big meal, and was greeted my the same reaction. "Nice job," Stonenose said approvingly. "You catch that on your own?"

"Well, Flowerfur did most of it. I just scared it towards her," I said bashfully. It was hard to be proud in the elder's den.

"Aye, don't be upset! That's a dangerous job. Could spook towards ya, ya know."

"Oh. I didn't know I was in any danger."

"That doesn't make it any less impressive young'n. Now here, have the first bite."

I looked around the den to make sure all of the elders gave their approval. When they did, I bent down and delicately tore some of the flesh off. I chewed it slowly, realizing why the Clan was so happy I had brought back a rabbit. It was delicious! I had a new favorite food, and quickly found myself upset that it was so rare. "Now run along Silverpaw," an elder's voice cut into my pleasure. "Surely you have something that Flowerfur told you to do."


	12. We Gather Here Today

**I finally updated! I try to do it semi-often but sometimes I just really don't want to write.**

 **Also, look out! I told you a little bit about Silver's origins this chapter, so try to catch it.**

* * *

 **Silverpaw**

I got up, anxiously awaiting the night's festivities. I had been told to take a nap since we would be travelling today. I rose and went outside, wandering around the camp aimlessly. I kneaded the ground and hopped around, delighted to see Flowerfur approaching me. "Hi Flowerfur! How's it going?"

"Pretty good Silverpaw. You seem anxious, what's up?"

"Planning for the Gathering. How much longer is it until we go?"

"We'll be going very soon. It shouldn't be longer than three walks around camp."

"Oh! Really? That soon?" I was delighted to be able to go, but also a little nervous. What was I going to say? I was supposed to try and recruit cats, but what if they didn't like me? What if they _hated_ me? How could I even talk about it? You can't just bring up world peace.

I pulled out of my thoughts to see I had made my way around the camp. _Two more laps, no more._ I kept planning and thinking. The cats that I recruited would be preferably she-cats and hopefully apprentices. I would take whatever I could get, but it would be nice to have friends as well as allies. _Second lap done._ I looked over at the center of camp and saw a group of cats preparing to go, and I joined them.

"I didn't see any other apprentices, am I the only one, Flowerfur?"

"Yeah. For whatever reason Graystar decided that a young apprentice meant one apprentice. Now hush, we're about to go."

" _Ok._ " Our leader said some words which I didn't catch, I was too absorbed in thought, and we were off. I knew it was a long walk but I still had a hard time stopping myself from running ahead. However, I was soon grateful for my decision. I got rather tired pretty quickly, and had to consider whether I was ready for my first Gathering. Then I remembered that I had an important mission and I pushed on.

When we finally reached Fourtrees, I was surprised by the trees. I had already been there once but their size still amazed me. I was also caught off-guard because we were the first ones there. The walk had taken so long, surely other Clans should have gotten there before us? But nope, there they weren't.

I had time to walk around the clearing and adjust to the size of the open space and the Great Rock before another Clan came. I recognized their scent immediately: WindClan. They were already friends with our Clan, so making a friend there should be easy. I started scanning their ranks and was delighted to see a few apprentices in the fray.

I gathered my courage and walked up to the younger cats after they split off from the group. They seemed nice and they were happy to meet a CaveClan apprentice. "Hi! I'm Silverpaw. What are your names?"

The biggest cat there, who seemed to be the leader of the group, responded. "Well, I'm Foxpaw and that white cat," she started, pointing with her tail, "is Snowpaw. The black-and white cat with green eyes is Cinderpaw, and the creamy-white one is Cloudpaw."

Each one of the cats raised their tails when called regardless of Foxpaw pointing them out. I went to work trying to remember who was who. Each of them was pretty easy to tell apart, but Snowpaw and Cloudpaw were a bit hard not to mix up. "Have you all been to Gatherings before?"

Just then I found something that would help me distinguish Snowpaw and Cloudpaw. Snowpaw was a male while Cloudpaw was a she-cat. Even if I hadn't been able to tell, Cloudpaw's next comment made it apparent. "Well, we haven't all but Foxpaw has because he's older. He's super cool!" She said it shamelessly, but she was blushing so much it was obvious she had a crush. Of course, also being a she-cat I knew how it felt to have a crush so I wouldn't tease.

"Well, what usually happens? We've been here a while and nothing has happened."

"Well, soon enough the other Clans will get here, but until they do we should chat." This time Cinderpaw spoke up. Whether or not they knew it I was gathering information about them. Cinderpaw and Foxpaw were apprentices longer so they were probably a little more respected, but Snowpaw and Cloudpaw would probably be easier to convince.

"Ok then! What's your favorite food?"

Foxpaw spoke again. "Well, we really like rabbits of course, since they're WindClan's main food, but I prefer voles. They're rare though."

"I love rabbit! But they're scarce on our territory. And voles are all right, but there are tons of them. Maybe we could trade some food!"

Cinderpaw perked up at that. "I was thinking about that. So many cats are starving and everything. Maybe WindClan and CaveClan should work together."

I was delighted. I hadn't expected any other cats to have a plan like mine, but it shouldn't have been surprising. "Yeah! I've actually been planning this. What if we got our Clans to work together-share food, berries, even shelters? Then we would have so many fewer kits die."

Foxpaw seemed surprised that I would bring something like that up, but my face must have darkened when he looked at me as he didn't speak about it. "That would be smart. Maybe we could do it. I'll speak to Tallstar. Try and meet at the big rock where our boundaries meet this half-moon."

Just then, three other Clans poured into the clearing and the Gathering officially began.


	13. The Meeting

**Note: Foxpaw is supposed to be a tom. My bad!**

* * *

 **Silverpaw**

I was a little disappointed with the Gathering. The Clans talked about themselves, and I got some information, but it was boring. ThunderClan had a badger problem and WindClan was low on food. RiverClan was angry at ShadowClan for who knows what, and ShadowClan was worried of an attack. Of course, nobody said that, but you could tell if you weren't mousebrained.

When it did end, I was very ready to leave. I got up and hopped over to Flowerfur, wanting o discuss how the Gathering had went. She saw me and, pulling away from her group, started talking to me. "So, how did it go?"

"Oh, it was great!" I replied. "I met some WindClan apprentices."

"Did they like you? Did you learn?"

"Yeah! We chatted, and I think we're friends now by the way we talked. We discussed favorite foods an how I loved rabbit but barely got it, and they loved voles but barely got them. So I brought up my plan and how it would get us more rabbits and them more voles."

"What did they think?"

"They liked it! One of them, Cinderpaw I think, had had the same idea. They even tried to set up another meeting time!"

"All right, when is it?"

"Tomorrow at sunhigh, by the big rock where our territories meet."

"Let's go ask Graystar."

I pulled away a little at that. I didn't think we were going to ask _right now_. "Like, right now? Already? Isn't he doing important leader stuff?"

"SIlverpaw, you plan to get there at sunhigh. You have to have his decision now so you can go right away tomorrow."

"Oh. All right. I have a basic plan of what to say, so how's this? 'Graystar, CaveClan could always use more allies. WindClan may be interested in joining us, so I was hoping we could meet with them tomorrow.'" I asked, putting on my serious face

"That would work during a war. How about you just ask if you-and him, he'd want to be there-can meet some WindClan cats tomorrow?"

"Ok." We walked off towards Graystar, and my shoulders sagged with relief when he wasn't talking to anyone else. I don't know what I would've done if somebody saw me ask him! He looked at us expectantly, and nodded at me to talk.

"Well, Graystar, could you and I meet up with some WindClan cats tomorrow? We could use a Clan as a friend, and we already planned a meeting. We decided that if one of us didn't come we just didn't have permission, but we figured it was worth a try." My words came out a little rushed, and I didn't say exactly what I was supposed to, but I must have been convincing because he didn't instantly reject me.

"I'll assume you have permission from Flowerfur?" He asked, firmly.

Flowerfur stepped in then. "Yes, Graystar. I think it would be good for her to talk with another Clan. And, I think her plan makes sense. It would be useful to have another Clan's friendship."

Graystar seemed to be in deep thought, but at last he replied. "All right, Silverpaw. We can go tomorrow. When?"

"Tomorrow at sunhigh, at the big rock between our Clans' territories."

"I'll make sure to be ready. You'll have to wake up early! Now, let's return to camp." We walked back to camp, and I was elated. Not only was I making progress on my plan, Graystar _must_ be approving of it if he was accompanying me.

* * *

I got up a soon as I woke up, wanting to make sure I was plenty ready for my trip today. I stretched my legs a bit and ate breakfast, happy to enjoy a plump woodpecker. I took the feathers off and put them in my mother's nest, happy to me doing something instead of just idly waiting.

It seemed to take forever, but to my joy I finally saw Graystar walking towards me. "Good morning, Silverpaw."

"Good morning Graystar! Is it time to go yet?"

"Just about. I have to tell Icefoot to take over while I'm gone, and let him know my plans for the patrols. I'll be right back, though, so don't do anything."

I sat down obediently, figuring he probably wouldn't mind if I walked around but not wanting to take any chances. I groomed myself thoroughly while waiting, making sure to get my paws, my ears, and even the base of my tail. I wanted to look nice for the WindClan cats.

When Graystar was ready to leave he just looked at me and made eye contact, then walked towards the camp's exit. I got up and followed him, and we started our long walk to the meeting place. Graystar didn't talk much, which surprised me. I expected him to tell me not to say certain things or to make sure I mentioned this, but he didn't. We just walked, silently.

When we finally got to the big rock I was tired in my muscles, but my brain was whirring. What if they didn't come? What if I wasn't supposed to bring Graystar? I should've asked for more information, dang it! But when I looked at Graystar, he was just sitting, calmly. My mind calmed down a little then, and I decided to do something with my time. "Graystar, may I hunt while we wait?"

"Sure Silverpaw, just make sure to be back here by sunhigh!"

"Of course!" I walked off, slowly, trying to catch a scent. I had to be careful not to cross the WindClan border at first, but I got far enough away that I was safe before I caught a scent. The scent I caught made me happy, and I stalked towards a big, plump, vole. I leapt on it and caught it, and it didn't even make a squeak. I buried it and went back to hunting, trying to catch something for me and Graystar.

It took me a while to catch another scent, and I was worried I wouldn't before I had to return. When I was about to go and find my buried prey I smelled a mouse, and decided that that was better that nothing. I stalked it and killed it, carrying it back to where I hid the vole. I carried them both back to Graystar triumphantly and plopped the mouse down at his feet. "I'm not very hungry, but Foxpaw's favorite food is voles. Could I save this for him?"

"Sure. Can you smell them yet?"

I took a deep sniff of the air around me and my ears perked. I could easily smell Cinderpaw and Foxpaw, and the rest of the gang. When I caught an unfamiliar scent I realized that they had brought their leader, too. Graystar split off with Tallstar, and left me and the apprentices alone.

"Hi! Nice to see you, I caught you a vole." I pushed my vole towards them with my nose, and Cinderpaw's mouth opened slightly but she didn't speak.

"Wow! Thanks! You must hunt pretty well if you can share prey," Foxpaw replied, gratefully. He dug in then, and I wasn't sure if I should keep talking or wait for him to be done. Luckily, he finished his meal in a few bites.

"Well, it's proper to bring some prey to a meeting, and I knew it was your favorite. How did you convince Tallstar to come?"

Snowpaw interjected then, and I jumped a little since I hadn't smelled him. "We were going to ask the same thing! Tallstar was pretty happy to come. since we could always use good allies. He seemed very happy about your plan to possibly merge."

"Graystar was happy too! He just made sure I had Flowerfur's permission and then said we could go. Oh, they're calling for us, let's go." We walked off in a pack, and I found myself between two cats. I was pretty happy with my position, since I was only one cat but they still seemed to consider me the gang's equal. We got to where Tallstar and Graystar we talking and they both turned to me.

"Silverpaw, I hear you have some big plans for the Clans. Could you go into detail?"

"Well, I was hoping we could be really close. Not quite merged, but like it. We would still have our own camps and our borders would still be there, but we could cross when needed. Or if one of us had a particularly hard leafbare, maybe the other would share their territory for hunting. And we could exchange berries and hunting and fighting skills. So we would still keep our Clan names and camps, but we'd be really close and both of us would be a lot wiser."

"Well, I like it," Tallstar announced. "I'm actually a bit surprised that an apprentice could come up with such a plan. What do you think, Graystar?"

"I like it too. I think it would work. We'd have to work out a few details, but it should be doable. First off, let's have you and I, as well as Silverpaw and Foxpaw, Cinderpaw, Snowpaw, and Cloudpaw be able to walk around freely, even during good times. That way we could discuss things more easily, and the apprentices could be friends and possibly intertwine our Clans even more. I already have my Clan's approval, by the way. They liked the idea of meeting up. I told them early today, while Silverpaw was still sleeping."

"That makes sense to me. WindClan approves, too. I told them last night, while we were awake. Let's meet here again at the half-moon, to further discuss our plans. Until then, you can travel if we can."

"All right! Thank you for meeting with us today. May StarClan light your path."

Graystar and I started walking back to camp, but the gang stopped us. "Thanks again for the prey. Bye Silverpaw!"

"Bye, all of you. Would you mind if I called you 'The Gang'?"

"That's actually a cool title. Sure!"

"All right! Bye Gang!" Then we walked back to camp without any more interruptions. I got a little bit hungry on the way back, but I didn't want to stop to hunt and Graystar didn't make me, so we didn't. When we did get back the moon was almost out, and I simply plopped into my den, ready to tell Flowerfur about the day tomorrow.

* * *

 **Sorry if this is too long, but it seemed too short otherwise so I did this.**


	14. Brethren

**SIlverpaw**

Today was a big day. For one of the first times in history Clans were sharing territory, so we all had something to learn. Graystar called us all to a meeting to discuss the new changes.

"All right, CaveClan. WindClan and us have partially merged, I explained the details yesterday. Now we need to talk. We are allowed to go onto WindClan territory. Only sometimes, of course, but all the same we are allowed. When we are there we need to be on our best behaviors."

I wondered why Graystar had called the warriors here. They knew the importance of this, they probably just felt patronized. But Graystar carried on, ignoring the groans of the senior warriors. "I know what you're thinking about, you think the warriors shouldn't have to be here. But it's important. We agreed on only going to each other's territory when it was necessary for the most part, implying that if we go there we're in weak condition.

We also need to be careful of how much prey we take or how many herbs, since even when we're partnered we could be seen as stealing. Only go there for prey if we're in great need of it or if it crossed the border while you were hunting. Also, this is more for the medicine cat, stick to gathering herbs that are only or mainly on WindClan territory if you're going to gather herbs from there. I'm sure you exchange herbs sometimes anyways, but stay careful.

That's pretty much everything, but use logic. Flowerfur, lead a border patrol today but avoid the WindClan border as a peace motion. Everyone she doesn't choose can go do whatever they had planned."

The Clan spread out, and I went up to Flowerfur. "Flowerfur, after I go hunting, can I travel our territory or should I do more?"

She looked at me thoughtfully. "You can travel a bit, I guess. You did have a pretty big day yesterday."

My eyes lit up and my tail stood up. "Yay, thank you!" I pranced off, going in the direction of the WindClan border. I had permission to go there, and they had rabbits. Of course, I wouldn't cross the border, but if I saw a member of The Gang or a stray rabbit I could try to catch it.

True to my expectations, I quickly caught the scent of a rabbit. It was on our territory, so I could catch it without shame. I stalked it slowly, and then remembered that I had no idea how to hunt rabbits on my own. I contemplated my options, and decided that it was worth a try just to possibly catch it.

I got pretty close to the rabbit, but before I pounced it caught my scent. I tried to keep up with it as it fled, but it outran me easily. _All right then, I'll have to hunt something else._ I walked around aimlessly trying to catch a scent, and I was deep into our territory again before I caught one.

This time it was a squirrel. That was a good thing, since squirrel hunting was one of my best abilities. Not only did I actually know how to do that alone, but I was a good jumper. CaveClan was well-known for their strong legs, since they had to be able to maneuver the rocks.

I snuck up on it and was surprised to find it a ways from a tree. However, I ignored that detail and kept stalking. When I was almost upon it I caught a new scent: milk. Then I realized, it was a mother.

For a moment I felt bad killing the squirrel. I knew that I had to eat, but it had _kids!_ Then I made a plan. If I removed it's kids from the picture, I wouldn't have to feel bad. I knew my logic was flawed, but in reality I also knew that squirrels were different from us. They were our prey. They were good, and we should be thankful to StarClan for them, but I figured they didn't have feelings like we did. As I ran through these thoughts, my original logic faded and I instinctively killed the squirrel and it's kids.

I walked back to my camp with my head held high. The squirrel had had three babies which were all of decent size. They were too small to run away, but they still had _some_ meat on them. I dropped them off on the fresh-kill pile and walked out of camp, headed towards my day's true goal.

I ran across our territory to the Twolegsplace. I steeled myself against my constant fear of the area and tried to catch the scent of- Creamy, I think his name was- but to my dismay did not. I wandered around the area, horrified. Today was probably the only chance I would get to see him in a long time. I searched through the Twoleg dens, getting deeply into their maze.

When I finally decided to give up, I found myself lost. I could hardly even catch my scent amongst the other odors. Then I heard a voice. "What're you doing in my alley, you scrawny kittypet?"

At first I was scared, but then I was confused. Was there such thing as a scrawny kittypet? I looked at the voice, irritated. "I didn't mean to be in your alley, and you shouldn't be rude."

"Look cat," the voice spat. "Get out of here. If you can't avoid Blood you can't stand a chance at survival."

What strange names kittypets had! "Do you know where a cat named Creamy is?"

The voice chuckled. A beautiful she-cat walked out of the shadows. "You're lookin' for Creamy? Well, you sure are lost. Go to the forest border of Twolegsplace. He's in the biggest den there. But don't think my helping you means you're welcome here!"

I flinched a little, deciding that I may as well please her. "All right, thanks."

I darted off back to the border, following my vague scent. The cat had hardly been any help, except now I knew which den to wait by. I waited where I figured was a good place, and sat myself down. I wasn't leaving until I saw Creamy.

I shifted my position a lot, and I watched the sun move across the sky. My ears perked a couple of times when an opening appeared, but Creamy didn't come out. I was about to give up on my promise to myself when a familiar voice came from behind me. "I've been looking for you, Silverpaw! I don't have a good nose, but I can smell you across the forest!"

I grinned upon seeing the old cat. "Creamy, you should avoid the forest. Bigger cats than me are in there. But did you find anything out about my brother?"

"Oh, the purdy golden kit? I figured a bit out. He's alive, but he won't tell me where he lives. I told him about you, by the way. He says you should be able to catch his scent after the Gathering, whatever that means."

I deflated a little bit at the news. I had missed it! However, I couldn't give up yet. "How long ago did he say this?"

"Oh? About two days ago, why do you ask?"

I lit back up again. "Because I was worried I missed it. The Gathering is every full moon. Thank you _so much!_ Wanna chat for a while?"

This time Creamy perked up. "Sure! You have something on yer face."

"Oh? Oh, yeah. I caught a squirrel."

"What's a young'un like you doing catching squirrels?"

"I told you Creamy! I have to hunt to help my Clan. What's on your face?"

"Probably some cream. You should try it! Here." He started yowling before I could tell him to stop. I darted up a tree and hid.

"CREAMY! Me and Twolegs don't mix well. One _kidnapped_ my _brother!_ "

:"Oh, yeah. Sorry."

"At least I have to believe you. Now, did anything exciting happen lately?"

"Well, I saw a bird three days ago. Gorgeous thing, a red winged black bird. What about you?"

"Two Clans merged!"

Creamy didn't seem to understand, and I criticized my stupidity. "Eh?" He asked.

"The Clans don't really like each other, but I got two Clans to live in peace with each other."

"Oh! That's good. Maybe I'll be able to be safe in the forest soon."

"Maybe," I chuckled. " Anyways, I better get going. It's a long way back to camp, and it's far past sunhigh. It was lovely chatting!"

"Yes, it twas. Try and visit me again."

"Of course! Bye!" I ran back to camp with a brightened mood. So many exciting things were happening so quickly! I couldn't wait to meet Goldenkit. I knew tonight was going to be a restless night.


	15. We Re-gather Here Today

**Silverpaw**

It was the night of the full moon, and what was happening was nearly unheard of. I got to go to the Gathering for the second time in a row, even though I was an apprentice. Of course, Graystar only wanted me there so I could re-explain my plan if any of the other Clans were interested, but it was still cool.

I was pumped. I had gotten a lot bigger since the last Gathering, so this trip would probably be easier, leaving me more energy for hopefully recruiting. However, when we left the camp all of my Clanmates were in for a surprise.

Graystar was addressing us all. "Tonight, we go to the Gathering with WindClan. We will meet at our borders. We will walk together, crossing into the other territory when necessary. It is a sign of our merge's success."

Most of us were pretty excited, but I was a little sad. I was hoping to be _energized,_ but that would add a lot to the journey. However, I was happy, too. The Gang would probably be there since they helped merge the Clans, and maybe they would help me recruit another Clan.

I hoped to recruit RiverClan next, since they seemed cool, but I was going to take any of the three other Clans. I had to try and get the rest of the Clans together, in whatever order. I walked with the Clan while planning, and was jolted from my thoughts by a familiar voice. "Hi, Silverpaw!"

"Hi, Foxpaw and the Gang! How are you?"

"Oh, we're great! We didn't go on your territory even though we could, but we were wondering if you wanted to meet up sometime."

"Sure! When? I mean, I'm usually free but I'd have to get Flowerfur's permission."

"How about at the half-moon? We'd show you around our territory, and then at the half-moon after you could show us around yours."

"Sure! At sunhigh?"

"As early as you can get there, so we have more time to show you around. Maybe we can even hunt a little."

"Yay! All right, I'll try and come. Are you excited for the Gathering?"

"Of course. We were thinking we might be able to get another Clan, but they'd have to be in good relations with your Clan."

"We were thinking ThunderClan," Snowpaw interjected.

I thought about it for a bit, and then realized that ThunderClan _was_ in pretty good relations with WindClan, and CaveClan wasn't against them. "They'll probably be all right, but I'll just talk to whatever Clan we see."

After that we walked on in silence. Some warriors were talking to WindClan, and Graystar was talking to Tallstar, but my friends and I stopped talking. I loved just being with them, partially because we were friends but partially because they were WindClan.

When we reached the Gathering, I actually wasn't very tired. We were the first ones there again for whatever reason, so I had time to think. Suddenly, I remembered the words Creamy spoke to me: I could catch Goldenkit's scent after the Gathering!

I got up and paced around, getting excited. Even if this Gathering was unsuccessful, today would be a good day. The Gang came over to me to try and talk to me, but I was too lost in my own thoughts to say anything except "Brother."

After my excitement died down, I noticed some new cats in the clearing. A quick scent check told me that they were ShadowClan. I wasn't looking forward to trying to get them to join us, but it had to be done sometime.

I pulled the Gang over and we approached some ShadowClan apprentices. I looked at Foxpaw, checking to see if I could introduce us, and he nodded. "Hi! I'm Silverpaw, and this is Foxpaw. The white she-cat it Cloudpaw, and the white tom is Snowpaw. The grey apprentice over there," I motioned with my tail since Cinderpaw hadn't joined us, "is Cinderpaw. Who are you two?"

The two cats looked at us, seemingly thoughtfully. One had slight scorn in his eyes, but the she-cat seemed interested in us. She spoke first. "I'm Rosepaw. You are from different Clans, how do you know each other?"

I looked at Rosepaw, trying to find where she got her name. Here eyes were green and her fur was a shiny black, and her ears were no more pink than average. Her nose wasn't very pink either. It must have had something to do with her personality. "Nice to meet you, Rosepaw. We probably shouldn't tell you how we know each other; that will be revealed during the Gathering."

Rosepaw seemed intrigued by my statement, but the other cat didn't seem to care. When Rosepaw saw me looking at him, she decided to take command. "That's Nightpaw. He's a grump. It's nothing personal, he just doesn't like anyone that's not ShadowClan."

I was taken slightly aback at this and considered asking Foxpaw if we should talk to other apprentices, but he seemed intent on staying here. "Well, we don't mean you any harm," he started. "We just wanted to get to know you a little bit."

Rosepaw thought for a while again. "Well, what's your favorite food? I like squirrels."

"I like rabbits!" I popped in. "But I'm terrible at hunting them."

"Oh? How do you do it?"

"I actually have no idea. The only time I successfully caught one was when I had a partner."

"Well, it's far easier to catch them with partners. On you own, however, it is possible. You have to stalk them carefully since they hear you and don't sense you. You also have to check the wind, since they have a great sense of smell. And if they run you're pretty much out of luck, since they can outrun anyone except WindClan. What even is CaveClan good at?"

I was surprised that she didn't know, since I thought every cat knew every Clan's. "Well, CaveClan have strong legs and claws. They have to be able to maneuver the cave, after all."

"Oh. Cool."

We sat there in awkward silence for a little bit, and Foxpaw finally decided it was enough. "Well, we actually came here with a plan."

"And what would that be?" Rosepaw asked.

"Well," he continued, "we were hoping our Clans might be able to merge with yours. Not a full merge or anything, but we'd share knowledge and be able to use each other's hunting grounds when necessary. And we'd be allies in wars."

Rosepaw seemed taken aback at that. "Of course not! ShadowClan doesn't need your Clans' help. Go find the ThunderClan wimps."

I was surprised at her hostility, but I accepted her response. If they didn't want to merge we couldn't make them. Or really, even if we could I didn't want to. The Gathering started as we walked off, and to none of my Clanmate's surprise Graystar had gotten permission to speak first. He told of how we were seeking peace with the Clans, and were even ready to merge, but surprisingly left out the fact that we had merged with WindClan. I tried to listen, but was ready to go when the time came. I had to meet my brother.


	16. Reunited and it Feels so Good

**Silverpaw**

All through the Gathering I had had pent up energy, and now I could let it go. I ran up to Flowerfur, saying some nonsense that I hoped worked itself out for her. I wanted to let her know I was all right without actually telling her what I was doing, since I as scared she wouldn't approve.

I ran out of the clearing as fast as I could, knowing I would tire quickly but not really caring. I wanted to reach Goldenkit as fast as I could so we could talk for as long as possible.

I got to the Clearing of Awfulness as I had fondly titled it before I had to rest. I still had too much adrenaline pumping through me to sit still, so I went hunting. I stalked and searched for a while, feeling my breathing slow. I was ready to run as soon as it was back to normal, even if I didn't catch anything.

I caught a squirrel and a mouse. I buried the squirrel, hoping to pick it up on my way back home, and then picked up the mouse. I thought Goldenkit might like it, and if he didn't I could give it to Creamy. Maybe he would like forest food.

I ran off as fast as I could again, despite just having to cool off. I figured I could get to the Twolegspace before I was too tried to go on, and I was right. I reached the border and started smelling to find Goldenkit.

I didn't catch his scent near the border, and I was discouraged but I didn't turn back. I hadn't run from the center of the forest to the border just to be defeated when things weren't easy. I kept searching deliberately, hoping for any hint of my brother.

I was two dens deep, two dens too deep, into the Twolegsplace when I smelled something different. It smelled like rot like everything else around me, but it also seemed familiar. I ran at it, recognizing it as my mother's scent.

I followed it slowly, hardly able to smell it around the other garbage. I smelled crowfood, and it disgusted me, but I knew it would be worth it to see Goldenkit. He was taking a winding path, and I didn't know why. I figured he must have some reason, and then I realized that he probably wanted to make sure it was me. Most likely I had a better nose than loners, I trained my sense of smell.

I came to a place where the buildings where a bit farther apart, and across from me I saw a familiar face. I nearly dropped my mouse on the ground, having to remind myself to set it down in the cleanest place around. Once I had, I called out to him excitedly. "Hi Goldenkit!"

He ran toward me and I him, and we met in the middle of the opening. We touched noses excitedly, and he began the rest of the talking. "Hi Silver-paw it is now, right? How are you?"

I nodded. "I have Flowerfur as my mentor. I got WindClan and CaveClan to merge. How are you?"

He looked up thoughtfully. "I'm pretty good. The monsters tried to make me a kittypet, but I escaped and became an alley cat, as the loners call themselves."

I suddenly remembered the mouse, surprised that I had managed to forget it. "Oh, I caught you something! Here!" I pushed it towards him with my nose.

His eyes lit up brighter than mine ever had, which I hardly believed was possible. He stared at it, and got really happy. "Thanks! I haven't had fresh-kill for a long time!"

I scrunched my nose at that. How could he not have fresh-kill? Did he eat crowfood? He seemed to read my expression, and he explained. "I don't hunt very well, I haven't had much training. I eat scraps and crowfood."

I didn't like that explanation. It only confirmed the grossness I had expected. I looked at him again, noticing that he was thin. I had thought he was scrawny, but maybe he was starving. "Do you eat all right?" I asked, worried.

"Oh, sometimes. Sometimes I eat a lot, sometimes I eat nothing. It depends on the day," he answered indifferently.

I got even more scared for him at that. Why didn't he come back to the Clan? They would train him, and he could eat all right. "Why?" I asked, not prepared to ask more. I couldn't stand meeting him just to have him starve to death.

"Well, it's not like I can do anything about it. I told you, I haven't been trained."

I was surprised at his ignorance. "Goldenkit, you could come back to the Clan."

He flinched. "By the way, I'm Golden now. And no I couldn't. I like it here, I'm an alley cat."

"Why? Why do you like it here? Why don't you like it in the Clan?"

He considered his response for a little bit. "Well, I like it here because it's calm. I only have responsibility to me and my mentor. I got a mentor, by the way. Anyways, I never really had any responsibilities before I was captured, but I knew they were coming. I'm happy here, where it's calm and I'm free. I'm a loner. I like it." I flinched when he said that, and he caught himself. "I miss you, of course! And you could join me! I just don't want to come back to the Clan."

I forced my tail to raise back up, and forced a smile onto my face. It made me happier, as it always did. "All right, I guess. But we have to visit each other every moon. I'll teach you how to hunt, and you can teach me about alley life. We'll take turns between CaveClan territory and here, too. If WindClan can travel our territory, so can you."

He brightened at that, apparently accepting that I was ok. "Of course! Where will I meet you?"

I grinned, knowing the perfect spot. "Remember the clearing you ran away too? There."

I expected him to flinch a little at that. I didn't want to hurt him, but it was a good place to meet. To my surprise, he smiled at that. "Of course! I can actually find that. Oh, any by the way, before you go, I need you to tell Tawnyflower something, al right? Will you tell her I love her? Don't tell her I ditched her, not that you would, but be careful with your wording, all right?"

I could tell it really mattered to him, which was of no surprise. I was already planning on telling her anyways, so I agreed. "Definitely. Bye Golden, I love you."

"Bye Silverpaw, I love you! I'm looking forwards to next moon!"

I left the clearing, happy at how the night had turned out. Golden wasn't as well as I would like, and ShadowClan were still jerks, but it was all right. Golden was alive, and decent. And with my training he would be able to hunt soon. I went back to camp, picking the squirrel up on the way. I deposited it on the fresh-kill pile and went to bed, knowing that I had a good night ahead of me.


	17. Goodbye?

**Silverpaw**

I looked out at the night sky as some of my Clanmates marched away. They were out to a Gathering. I was amazed at how fast the moons were flying, and I almost forgot that I had made plans. I waited for my mentor to leave and darted off.

This time I remembered the previous trip, and I didn't run full speed the entire way. I ran sometimes, of course, but I tried not to tire myself too quickly. I passed the cool pond I saw on my first trip with Flowerfur, and I knew I was getting close.

When I reached our planned meeting clearing, I left some of my scent and then trotted off. I had to catch Golden some prey. After all, you shouldn't train on an empty stomach. I caught the scent of a mouse, and slipped into a hunting stalk.

The hunt was short and joyless. I wasn't doing it for fun-I rarely did that-I just wanted to feed my brother. I didn't even get to give my catch to the elders and hear a story. Just give it to my brother. But I knew he would be happy to have some real prey again. It had been a moon since I last some him.

I sat in the clearing until moonhigh, when I left to catch myself some prey. I caught and ate nothing. I hunted for a long while but tried to keep within hearing and scent range of the clearing. When I got back to the clearing, the mouse remained untouched and there was no sign of my brother anywhere. I had a bad feeling, so I went to the Twolegsplace to check up on him. I figured he probably got lost somewhere along the way.

When I got to Twolegsplace, there was still no sign of him. I searched all around, even returning to the weird open spot where we met last moon. I couldn't catch his scent anywhere. I almost got lost in panic, then remembered my scent trail.

I followed it slowly out of Twolegsplace, and decided to ask Creamy about Golden. I went to his house and waited for him to come out.

He came out rather quickly this time, and he ran straight to me. "Hey, Silverpaw. How was Golden?"

I was happy to see him, but I didn't have time for chat. "Hi Creamy. Where's Golden?"

He seemed a bit surprised at that. "I thought you knew, Silver. Can I call you Silver, by the way?"

I got frustrated, but I didn't want to be mad at Creamy. "No, I don't. If you get any sign of him, tell me. And sure, I don't mind. I have to go look for him now, bye!"

I darted off without waiting for a response. I was going to tear Twolegsplace apart looking for my brother. I decided to do it systematically, row by row.

I went into the first row, looking in all the "alleys" and Twolegs dens. He wasn't there. I checked the second and third rows, to no avail. By the sixth row I was about ready to give up hope; there were only eight. But I figured I may as well finish the rounds before I gave up. Two more rows wouldn't take long.

I started checking the eighth row when I heard a familiar yowl-but it was muffled. I looked around and saw my brother, in a den. He was plump now, and for that I was grateful, but he was with a Twolegs. I ran up to an opening and greeted him. "Hi, Golden! How did you get _In_ there?"

He looked happy, even happier than he was last time I saw him. Not as happy as he was when I gave him a mouse, but happy. "Hi Silverpaw! I'm a kittypet now. It's nice, and warm, and I eat whenever I need! It's great; you should try it!"

I was stunned. Just last moon Golden had wanted to be an alley cat, he was even willing to leave his family. Now he wanted to be a kittypet? He changed his mind too often. But by looking at him I knew he couldn't be a Clan cat, and he couldn't hunt. Maybe being a kittypet was best. "It sounds nice, but I'm an apprentice. Do you still want to learn how to hunt?"

He seemed upset at that. "Can't. The Twolegs "De-clawed" me, as they put it. In my words, they tore my claws out of my paws. I was asleep while it happened, but they're still a little sore. Not that I mind. Now I don't accidentally scratch them. They're really nice, so I felt bad when I did."

I smiled. If Golden was willing to lose his claws he must be pretty happy. "All right! Can we still meet up sometimes?"

He looked off. "I'm shut in for now, but until I get out you can visit me whenever."

He didn't seem upset at being shut in, which just made me more certain he was truly happy. "All right! I'll visit you when I can."

His Twolegs came in and carried him off then, and I bolted. I still didn't like Twolegs. I realized that I had a mouse back in the clearing, but I wasn't hungry. I remembered Creamy and set off on a new mission.

I returned to the clearing, relieved that I had thought to cover my prey. I picked it up and ran back to Creamy's house. He was sitting outside, moon-bathing or something. I yowled a hello. "Hi, Creamy. I'm back!"

He started and then saw me. "Hi, Silver! Find your brother?"

I nodded excitedly. "He's a kittypet now. But I came here because I have something for you."

His eyes twinkled, and I wondered if he was young enough to still be curious about things. He seemed old enough to know everything. But he didn't appear to smell my mouse. I pushed it towards him. "It's a mouse, forest prey. I thought you might like it."

He eyed it for a while, seeming to decide if it looked delicious or revolting. He took a nibble at it, but he only got fur. He spat it out and took a bite, but I thought he just wanted me to be happy. Then he grinned and ate it all. "Mice are delicious."

I nodded. "Yeah. They're not as good as rabbits, but they're pretty good. I'm glad you liked it, good night!"

He smiled at me and waved his tail goodbye. "Night, Silver."


	18. Fluff! Mostly

**Silverpaw**

Today was a big day. WindClan and CaveClan were meeting up. Any cats-apprentice or older, of course-who wanted to could come. At least, from CaveClan's side. We all had permission to go now and then, but we didn't. We stuck true to Graystar's advice of not making ourselves look weak. Just to be safe.

Of course, I was going. I knew The Gang would be too. We hadn't seen each other in a while, and I was sure we were all eager to chat. A lot had happened since we last met, to me and I was sure to them.

I thought about Golden as the group marched off. I hadn't seen him much lately, he was content with his Twolegs. He didn't get mad at me and I didn't get mad at him, but he lost his charm. Of course, he was my brother, so I loved him, but I went a good seven moons without seeing him, and I could go on. I think he knew without me telling him that I wasn't going to visit anytime soon.

I had kept meeting with Creamy, however. He was nice. I even caught him another mouse, but this time from Twolegsplace. I figured Graystar wouldn't be appreciative of my taking CaveClan prey to a kittypet.

I tried to keep thinking of random things so I didn't get bored on the way to the meeting. Most of the apprentices would probably play random games with the other apprentices, but I was getting old for that. I was over ten moons old. I could probably be a warrior now, if I asked Flowerfur.

I decided that I didn't really care for being a warrior. My life was fine as an apprentice. Except I didn't leave camp without a warrior watching me. That was annoying. I also didn't like getting permission to eat, but I could live with that. I was surprised when Flowerfur walked up to me. "Hey, Silverpaw."

"Hey Flowerfur! What's up?"

She looked at me bashfully. "Well, I feel like a kinda dumb mentor. You want to be a warrior, right? You've been an apprentice for a while. And you got two Clans to have good relations. So if you wanted me to I could talk to Graystar. I'm sure he wouldn't mind or anything."

"Sure. I don't really care, don't worry. I've been an apprentice for what, four moons? It hasn't been too long. However, I do need to go to another Gathering soon. ShadowClan hasn't merged with us yet."

She looked at my brightly. "You still want ShadowClan to join us?"

"I want _every_ Clan to join us. It'd be better for everyone!"

"All right. I'll go talk to Graystar for you."

"All right. Bye." I walked along, wondering how it would go. If I became a warrior I would be able to visit The Gang more often, which would be nice. I didn't have very many friends in the Clan, but I never knew why. I just hadn't tried, I guessed. I was brought out of my thoughts by Graystar walking up to me.

"Hey, Silverpaw?"

"Yes, Graystar?" Graystar was worthy of proper grammar.

"Flowerfur wants to make you a warrior. Do you think you're ready?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"All right. We go to the Moonstone soon anyways. You'll be on our trip."

"Oh, yay!" Now that it was in front of my face, being a warrior _would_ be kind of exciting. Graystar walked back to his task, talking with our deputy, and I wondered what my name would be. Maybe it would be Silverstreak. That would be cool. Or Silverpool. I thought that one sounded pretty. I wondered if all apprentices wondered about their warrior names a lot. It certainly was interesting. And important. I would probably go by it forever.

I was done wondering, and soon found myself bored. I was relieved to see that the WindClan border wasn't far away. I couldn't smell any fresh scents just yet, but I knew the WindClan cats would be there soon. I hoped we would beat them, so I could tell The Gang we had been waiting forever. I might think most apprentice games were childish, but you were never too old to mess with your friends.

We reached the border and most of the cats sat down. I got permission to go hunting, and wen off in search of another vole. I hoped Foxpaw would never tire of them, because he was getting them anyways. I didn't find one, but I caught a shrew and hoped that was close enough.

I walked back to the border and smelled, then saw, that WindClan had gotten there too. There were a lot of cats there, and I figured that Tallstar had used the same rules we had. I sought out The Gang and found them, dropping my shrew at Foxpaw's feet. He looked at it for a second and then said, "It's not a vole? Why?" and laughed.

I laughed too, saying "There are only so many voles out there. You get a shrew this time."

Then Foxpaw's face switched to one of seriousness. "You weren't at the last Gathering, but I was. I hope you don't mind and figure you don't, but I recruited ThunderClan. We already liked them a lot and everything, so my Clan was good. We figure CaveClan will need to think about it, but it should be useful for you to have them with us."

I nodded. "I heard that your Clans really liked each other. That should be useful. But CaveClan doesn't really like ThunderClan, so it'll take some convincing. We've had border skirmishes."

Foxpaw looked at me with a playful eye, and I realized that the rest of the Gang was doing something else. I didn't mind; they were never as talkative as Foxpaw. "Surely you don't like them less than _ShadowClan_?"

I looked at him seriously. "No, seriously, some of our cats hate their guts. We don't mind ShadowClan, CaveClan would probably actually merge willingly with them. They stick to themselves for the most part, so most of our Clan would figure that they wouldn't bother us much. But ThunderClan has attacked us, so it'll take a bit. Graystar will be all for it, he likes my plan, but I'm not sure if anyone else will agree."

He seemed not to want to be serious anymore. "Well, you have three cats. So you pretty much have a whole Clan, because you only need one more cat."

That confused me. "We need way more than one more cat."

He shook his head. "Because if you get one more cat, then you can probably get one more cat. And so on. It's a thing my mother used to say. One more will always work, because you get one more, then one more, and so on. Made sense to me."

It made sense to me, too. I looked around and at the other apprentices playing and decided that I didn't care for maturity. I tensed up and hit Foxpaw with my tail, and then darted away. "Tag, you're it!"

He looked at me like I was foolish, and I almost stopped running before he ran up to me. He reached out his tail and almost caught me before I realized his trick and darted off. Other apprentices joined in, and I didn't mind. Tag was better with a big group. We played until the meeting was over, though by that time we were all getting slower. It was tiring to run aimlessly.

Graystar called the meeting to an end when the moon was rising. It had been a good day, although most of us had hardly eaten anything. Most of the warriors went hunting to get some prey for the Clan, since the apprentices were all exhausted. We groaned at the thought of the trip home, but made it slowly. We all plopped into our nests and went to bed, falling quickly into a long sleep.


	19. Moon Child!

**Silverpaw**

Tonight was the night. We were heading to the Moonstone. I was actually really excited now, and still curious of what my name would be. I was waiting for Graystar to be ready, pacing around the camp.

I knew it was a long journey, and I had gotten some herbs from Rosepetal. I hadn't eaten them yet. I was worried they were disgusting, and I wanted them to help me as long as possible. When Graystar came out of his den and called me I scarfed them down.

We started on our journey with me full of energy. I didn't run, still wary of ruining my store of energy. Flowerfur and Scratchears were with us. Scratchears was our deputy, so Graystar said he should be there for whatever reason.

We walked straight through our territory and into WindClan's land. At first I was curious, since I figured Graystar wouldn't want us going on another territory. He still believed we shouldn't show weakness like that. But he explained that on our trip to the Moonstone we were allowed to go on others Clan's land, and we would be fine.

There was a lot of WindClan territory that I didn't recognize, but I didn't stray. I didn't want to leave my scent everywhere or waste energy. I thought it would be fun to explore their territory, but I had never been this deep. Now it was a bit scary.

We exited WindClan territory with the sun slowly setting. We had left at dawn, so I knew we had been traveling a long time. Graystar was looking over his shoulder to Scratchears, and Scratchears nodded. Graystar turned to Flowerfur. "We're stopping at Barley's on the way."

Flowerfur nodded. "Are we going to ask him to hunt?"

"Yes. Silverpaw has to be getting hungry. I can't eat, as you know, but she sure can."

As he said that my stomach growled. I had hardly noticed that I was hungry, I was so concentrated on other things. Now I felt the hunger harshly, and I was happy Graystar was going to ask this Barley figure if we could hunt. I didn't know who he was, but he must be nice enough.

"Maybe we'll see Ravenpaw, too. Silverpaw would like him."

That confused me. An apprentice out with a loner? But Graystar cleared my mind. "Yeah, he certainly did think for himself. And he's like her brother. She told me he was all right, and preferred not being a Clan cat."

I thought back to that night. Graystar had caught me coming in, so I had told him the whole story. I figured he may as well know what had happened to Goldenkit.

We kept walking until we hit a field of tall plants, which Graystar called a cornfield. It would've been easy to get lost in it if I wasn't being led, which I quickly learned to be grateful for. Even if I lost sight of them-which I did once-I could smell them.

I heard some dogs, but my group wasn't scared of them so I decided we must be safe. We walked until we saw a weird den thing, when Graystar stopped. The sun still wasn't fully set, and I could see Highstones, so I knew we had some time on our paws. "Barley, are you in there?" he called out.

A plump black-and-white cat came out of the den and greeted Graystar excitedly. "Hey, Graystar! It's been a while."

"Yes, it has. Silverpaw here," he said, gesturing to me with his tail. "is on her trip to Moonstone. We were wondering if we could hunt for a while, since we're getting hungry."

Barley nodded and called for Ravenpaw. "Hey Ravenpaw! We have visitors."

A thin, black cat came out the den. He had a sleek pelt, and was very handsome. "Hey, Graystar. Where are we hunting today?"

"I was hoping you could show Silverpaw how to hunt barn mice. I shouldn't hunt, I'm on my way to the Moonstone."

"Oh, all right." Ravenpaw walked up to me, and I noted that his eyes were a nice shade of green. He led me over to a crack in the wall and sat down. "A mouse lives in there. We have to wait for it to come out to eat. As long as we're quiet, we can chat."

"Oh, all right." I replied. I was eager to learn about life as a loner. "What's life like as a loner?" I asked him.

"Oh, it's real nice. My only job is hunting, so I have a lot of free time. I like to talk with Barley, and meet new cats. And it's fun to help cats on their way to Highstones."

"Do you ever miss being a Clan cat?"

"Sometimes. But I like it here. Being a Clan cat was nice, but I belong here."

I nodded. "That's what my brother said."

Ravenpaw looked at me with a start. "What happened to your brother?"

"He became a kittypet."

"Does he like it there?"

"Yeah. He loves his Twolegs, and likes the food. I'm happy for him."

"Good, now shush." Just when he finished speaking a plump mouse came out of the crack in the wall. Ravenpaw pounced on it and killed it silently. "That's how you do it, so now you know for next time."

"Oh, thanks! Should I hunt my own?"

He shook his head. "You'll have to be going soon. Eat that one."

"All right, thanks." I ate it quickly after giving thanks to StarClan. It was delicious, even better than forest mice. Then, after a quick goodbye to Barley and Ravenpaw, we were off again.

We got to Highstones quickly, and Graystar sat down. "Flowerfur, you and Scratchears guard the entrance. We'll go in on our own."

"Yes, Graystar." She took a seat by the entrance to a cave, and Scratchears sat down on the other side.

Graystar led me into the cave, which he called Mothermouth. We walked through a dark series of tunnels, and I was again grateful that I had a leader. I would surely get lost if I was on my own.

We entered a cavern with a white stone in it. I realized that the stone must be Moonstone, but it wasn't all I expected. Then the moon shined on it.

I was stunned. It was dazzlingly bright. The light shined on the walls of the cavern, filling the entire area. Graystar walked down to the stone calmly. He told me to keep watch, and then put his nose to it. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to watch this world or StarClan, but I assumed he wanted me to stay awake.

We were in there a long while, until the light stopped shining and Graystar woke up at last. His eyes were bright, and he told me to keep trying to merge the Clans. Apparently StarClan approved of my plan.

We walked back to Barley and Ravenpaw's place, and they allowed us to spend the night. I went to bed and fell asleep nearly instantly. Today was a big day.


	20. At Long Last

**Here's your chapter. I fleshed it out a bit ;)**

* * *

 **Silverpaw**

We woke up at dawn and continued on our journey. We went right back through WindClan territory. I was still unsure of going through it, but I figured if Graystar said we were fine we were. We trekked past Fourtrees and back into our territory, where we were all more comfortable.

When we got into CaveClan territory it was getting to be near sunhigh, and we were all hungry. Graystar said we should stop to hunt, and we all spread out. The hunt was swift; it was the plentiful season of newleaf. I caught a vole while thinking about rabbits, and everyone else caught mice. We ate quickly and then continued.

When we reached our camp, Graystar got straight to duty. He jumped by the crevice, and Flowerfur told me to sit in it. Then Graystar called all of the Clan cats old enough to climb the cave to sit beneath the crevice, and all the apprentices, warriors, and elders came out. I noticed some queens and the medicine cat, and I saw my mom staring at me. It seemed that she knew what was happening as well as I did.

"Silverpaw, please step forward."

I went up to where he was standing and waited anxiously.

"I, Graystar, leader of CaveClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice." I wondered why they should look down on me, since that was an insult, but figured it applied to them being in the stars. He continued speaking. "She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn."

I thought about all the times Flowerfur had talked to me, trying to imprint the warrior code in my brain, and knew what he said was true. I had it memorized now, and was willing to live by it. Even befriending the other Clans was allowed. Graystar still wasn't done speaking. "Silverpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

I had to think about my answer. It would be hard to fight off the other Clans if I merged them, but I knew I could. "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Silverpaw, from this moment you will be known as Silverflower. StarClan honors your planning and understanding, and we welcome you as a warrior of CaveClan." He rested his muzzle on my head, and I licked his shoulder like I was supposed to. I waited anxiously for the expected words:

"Silverflower! Silverflower!" The cats came out of the crevice and congratulated me on my warrior name. My vigil hadn't started yet, so I could thank all of them. Of course, I singled out my mother, who licked me despite my now being full-grown. I went to the warrior's den and took a nap, hoping to be well energized for me vigil.

* * *

 **Silverflower**

It was time for my vigil, and I was ready. Graystar had let me sleep in preparation, and I had eaten a mouse. I was still a bit unsure of eating without permission, but I figured I was fine. I would grow out of that after I had been a warrior longer.

I watched the entrance to the camp intently for a while, but then I got bored. I walked outside the camp and stared at the stars, thinking about Ashkit. I knew he was up there somewhere, and I wondered whether he was watching me. Maybe he was jealous of me. I prayed to StarClan that he was all right, and apparently they heard my prayers.

The stars parted and a tiny figure seemed to walk down from them. He was see-through and starry, and I instantly knew who he was. I almost greeted him before I remembered that it was a vigil; I couldn't talk. I looked at him apologetically, and I knew he understood.

"Hi, Silverflower!" He mewed to me. "You're worried I'm jealous, because I died and you're a warrior. I'm not, don't worry! You're doing a great job. Keep trying to get the Clans together! StarClan didn't tell me to say that, but I like it. And don't share this with the whole Clan, but you can tell mom if you want. If you do, I love her. And where's Goldenkit? He's been out of our sight."

I pointed with my tail to the Twolegsplace. "Oh, he's a kittypet? I saw him get taken by Twolegs, but I figured he would get away."

I shrugged. I didn't know how to tell him Golden liked it there without talking. He fixed that for me. "Is he all right? Is he happy?" I nodded twice, and Ashkit smiled. "Good. Have a good time as a warrior! I love you, bye." With that, he walked into the stars.

I spent the rest of the vigil with a big smile on my face. Not only was I a warrior, I got to see my brother again. I kept smelling for dangers, but none came along. I also didn't hear anything, and I knew it was going to be a long night.

When the sun finally peeked above the ground, I ran back into the camp. "Tawnyflower!"

My mom peeked out of her den, surprisingly calm for being awoken at dawn. "What is it, Silverflower?"

I walked into the warriors den to see everyone still sleeping. I led her out of her den to the most secluded place in camp and told her about last night. "Ashkit visited me last night," I whispered. "He told me he likes me idea, and he loves you."

My mom seemed to have unexplainable delight at that. Thanks was all she could manage to say. Then she walked off with her tail held high, and I went to sleep in the warrior's den.


	21. I Want More

**I decided to write a lot today :P By the way, I changed the last chapter a little. Nothing important; I just added some fluff, but I figured I should tell you.**

* * *

 **Silverflower**

I woke up from my nap at sunhigh, grateful that I didn't have to do any patrols. I told Flowerfur I was going to go to WindClan territory and try to talk to ThunderClan, since I figured somebody should know. She said I could go right ahead, so I went off to hopefully move my plan forward.

I walked through CaveClan territory, not bothering to hunt. I wasn't sure if I could eat it or if I should save it for the Clan, and I didn't want it to become crowfood. I decided I would ask Flowerfur when I got back. I had expected warrior life to be simpler.

I reached WindClan territory and began to walk more carefully. I was on my own, and I knew any warriors could smell that, but I still felt odd actually walking into it. I knew we were allowed to, I had been given special permission, but it was odd.

I walked through their territory until I found a cat I didn't recognize. He was on my own and about my size, so I assumed he was a warrior. "Hi there!" I yowled.

He looked at me askance. "What are you doing here? You're CaveClan."

I looked closer at him and decided that he must be an apprentice, and a new one at that. All the old WindClan apprentices knew we were allowed here; there were at the meeting. "I'm allowed to be here, don't worry. I was looking for Foxpaw."

The apprentice still didn't seem to trust me, but it stopped being tense. I figured it was trying to trick me into an ambush, but for now I ignored it. I really wanted to find Foxpaw. "Follow me. I'm Willowpaw, by the way." Judging by her name and tone, she was a she-cat.

She led me deep into the heart of WindClan territory, past places that Graystar had avoided. We walked into a bunch of gorse, and from the old battle tales I realized that she was bringing me into the WindClan camp. "Hey, Tallstar?" she called out.

Tallstar emerged from his den and walked over to us curiously. "What is it, Willowpaw?"

"She," she pointed her tail at me with a dirty look, "says she's allowed here. I figured she wasn't, but I wanted to check with you before I chased her off."

Tallstar looked at me apologetically. "Sorry, Silverpaw. You're fine, I'll talk with Willowpaw later. Why did you come here today?"

I quickly considered telling him that I'm Silver _flower_ now, but decided otherwise. "I was looking for Foxpaw. I was hoping I could talk to ThunderClan, and they share a border with you. I also figured since you merged I might have an easier time talking to them ifI had a WindClan cat with me."

He nodded. "It would be good for you to merge with ThunderClan. It's hard being allies with our allies' enemies. Foxfrost is on a hunting patrol, but I'm sure you'll be able to catch his scent."

"All right, thanks!" I darted toward the entrance of the camp, trying to smell Foxpaw. As I left, I heard Tallstar scolding Willowpaw for not knowing I was allowed here. Apparently she had ignored what her mentor had tried to teach her.

I caught Foxpaw's scent and followed it all around the territory. It was getting rather late, so I knew if I saw him I would have to try and make a meeting tomorrow. When II finally caught up to him, he was walking back to his camp with a large mouthful of prey. I trotted up to him and greeted him. "Hi, Foxpaw!"

He set down his prey and greeted me. "Hi Silverpaw! I'm Foxfrost now, by the way. Anyways, what were you wanting?"

I scolded myself for forgetting; Tallstar had told me he was Foxfrost! I looked at the sky; the sun was nearly set. I would have to keep this short. "Great! I'm Silverflower as of yesterday. Anyways, I was hoping you could help me meet ThunderClan tomorrow. I would like to talk to them about merging."

He nodded. "Of course! I was hoping you would try to recruit them. I know your Clan doesn't like them, but I think you can do it. Meet me tomorrow at sunhigh, by the rock we met at the first time. If you can, of course."

"Ok, great! I should get back to camp, but I'll go tomorrow. Bye!"

I ran back to camp, looking for Graystar. I would have to make sure he didn't schedule me for any patrols. I would be pretty lucky to go two sunrises without anything planned, but he might make an exception. After all, I might be able to stop an ongoing war.

I found him and ran up to him, thankful that he wasn't talking to anyone. "Hey, Graystar?" I called out. "Do I have any patrols tomorrow? I was planning to meet wit Foxfrost at sunhigh, to try and recruit another Clan."

He looked over his shoulder at me. "Sure, go right ahead. You're actually on the dawn patrol, but it should be done before sunhigh. Go get some rest, the moon is up."

"All right, thanks!" I went to my bed and fell asleep, excited for my first patrol as a warrior despite it possibly getting in the way of my meeting.


	22. We Need To Talk

**Silverflower**

I woke up at dawn. It seemed like such a simple task the previous night, but I had stayed up until moonrise. I was still half-asleep, so I had to try and wake myself up.

I ran out of the camp and found a puddle. It was a bit cold, so I put my tail in it. It gave me enough of an energy spurt that I would be awake for now, and I figured it would last. I would steadily wake up for the rest of the day, after all.

When I got back into the camp I saw the patrol forming. To my relief, they weren't getting impatient yet. If they had been I might've been too embarrassed to enjoy my patrol. It may have been dawn, and I may have been tired, but it was my first patrol as a warrior and I was determined to enjoy it.

We walked out of the camp with our tails held high. Sunwhiskers, the leader of the patrol, told us we would be avoiding the WindClan border today. That didn't surprise me; we had avoided it since the merge. That meant we would only go to ShadowClan and Twolegsplace.

We went straight to Fourtrees and worked out way back. I looked around for any important things I had missed on my previous trips around the territory, but it was still a boring place. We had an abandoned badger set, but that was hardly worth noting. When we got to Fourtrees it was all I had spotted.

We didn't mark our border in Fourtrees, of course, but we put our marker pretty close. Sunwhiskers marked first, and then told me that I could mark the next spot. I walked towards it, trying to hide my anxiousness and stay with the group. When we got there I marked my territory and looked over my shoulder, hoping I had done it right. Nobody corrected me, so I assumed I had.

We walked along our border slowly, and I didn't mark again. I wasn't sure if I did it wrong or if they just didn't offer. I decided to assume they just didn't offer, since I did it like everyone else. Once we almost accidentally went into ShadowClan territory, but we caught ourselves pretty quickly.

We followed a pretty straight path until we hit the edge of our territory. We turned very abruptly there, making the place seem even more unnatural. I saw Creamy's house, but he was inside. I let out an inward sigh of relief; I didn't want my Clan to know I had a kittypet friend. They probably wouldn't care, but I didn't want to take any chances.

The Twolegsplace border wasn't as long as the ShadowClan border, and we finished marking rather quickly. When we turned back Sunwhiskers turned our patrol into a hunting patrol. We all quickly gathered some prey, most of us in a rush to get back to camp. I just wanted to get to my meeting.

The patrol had taken a good chunk of the day, and I had to rush to get to my meeting on time. We all ran back to camp, and I was breathing heavily when I reached it. I dropped my prey off on the fresh-kill pile then turned and ran to the WindClan border. My muscles were screaming at me to take a break, but I was determined not to be late.

When I reached the big rock which marked the spot, I was a bit annoyed. I had beat Foxfrost there, even though sunhigh was turning into dusk. I waited by the border and found myself worried he wouldn't come. I trusted him not to ditch me, but something might've happened. I was about to walk into their territory to check on him when I caught his scent.

He came towards the rock with his tail low. "Hi, Silverflower. Sorry I'm late. Tallstar was scolding me because I went into ThunderClan territory. I thought I was allowed to, but obviously I was wrong."

I smiled. "It's fine! I was worried you had gotten yourself killed. But, if you can't go into ThunderClan territory, how can we go?"

He looked at me, surprisingly calmly. Apparently he had a plan. "Tallstar said I could go with you. I'm not sure if I need a supervisor or if he just needs to know where I am, but we can go. Come on." He turned and led the way across their territory, wonderfully slowly.

We carried on our slow walk for quite a ways, passing the camp. Finally, he looked at the sky and started trotting. "Come on, we need to get there soon. It's almost dusk!" He called over his shoulder. I already knew that I would be walking back in the dark, but I agreed with him. I wanted as much talking time with ThunderClan as I could get.

When we finally reached their territory, Foxfrost sat down. "It's how we do it," he explained. "I wait for a patrol to invite me in. We reached the border before their dusk patrol, don't worry."

We sat there, waiting, for what felt like an extremely long time. I kept peeking at the sun only to find that my boredom slowed time considerably. I couldn't hunt; it was WindClan territory and we weren't desperate. I stalked up to Foxfrost, ready to dart, and hit him with my tail. "Tag, you're it!"

He got up and chased after me as I ran off. We always made sure to stay within seeing range of the border, and we were both sidetracked by trying to scent ThunderClan, but it was more fun than sitting around. By the time the patrol came around we were both tired from running around.

Foxfrost responded to the patrol first. "Hi, Birchpatch!"

Birchpatch looked confused for a second and then recognized Foxfrost. "Oh, hi! Who did you bring with you?"

Foxfrost looked at me. "This is Silverflower. She's a-"

"CaveClan cat," Birchpatch interrupted, glaring.

I walked up to him warily. "Hi, erm, Birchpatch. I wanted to talk to you about allying our Clans. It would save lives now and later." I was confident in my plan, but with the way he looked at me I couldn't pull my eyes from my paws.

He kept glaring and said, sternly, "No."

I finally looked up and glared at him passionately. "So you'd rather have more cats from _both_ Clans die than try and solve our stupid skirmish? We don't even share a border anymore!"

The large warrior seemed surprised at my bravery. _I_ was surprised at my bravery. Birchpatch could probably kill me before Foxfrost could get him off of me. But I was happy I had spoken, because it seemed to be having an impact. "Fine," he said, still unsure of me. "I'll talk to Firestar about merging our Clans like we merged with WindClan. But he might not like you, and you have to convince your Clan too."

I nodded excitedly. "Of course! Why did you change your mind off of just that?"

He looked at me thoughtfully. "My brother just became an apprentice, old enough to fight. Old enough to die. I don't want him dying over a squirrel."

I nodded. "Why was that squirrel so valuable, anyways? I got Graystar's permission yesterday. I can give you a squirrel. Of course, he doesn't know it would be going to ThunderClan. I told him it would go to expanding our allies, and he thinks I'm getting ShadowClan next. So don't tell him I gave you it!"

Birchpatch shrugged. "I'll tell Firestar that CaveClan tried to mend our disagreement. He'll probably be happy if he decides he can trust you. Bye."

"Bye!" I waved with my tail. "Have a nice patrol."

Once he had walked off, Foxfrost turned to me in confusion. "Don't ask," I commanded. "It's a secret, I can't tell. But, why was he by himself? Usually patrols are three or four cats."

He shrugged. "He was by himself. ThunderClan does what they want."

I nodded. "They do. I better get going, the sun's almost completely down."

He agreed and I pelted off, away from the setting sun. As I ran it got darker, and I barely got to camp before the moon rose. I dropped into my den, ready to talk with Graystar about my talk. I would leave out some details, but maybe I could convince him to merge with ThunderClan. Most of the Clan wasn't even effected by the skirmish anymore, so maybe they would accept. If they didn't, I could pull the "You want more cats to die over a squirrel?" argument. They would probably understand the foolishness of continuing the war. I fell asleep planning for the next day.


	23. Thunder and Lightning

**Would any of you be interested in a one-shot I wrote about Silverflower? It's an assignment I wrote for school, but it kinda fits so if you want to see it I could submit it. It would be an alternate universe, because she has a brother, but it would be fun.**

 **Also, lackadaisically means slowly or carelessly.**

* * *

 **Silverflower**

When I got up, I went straight to Graystar's den. To my surprise, he wasn't there. I figured he must be out hunting or on a patrol, so I should wait for him. However, I also knew that I shouldn't sit around like a lump all day. That forced me to get up and go hunting.

I left the camp reluctantly to go hunting. I wasn't on a patrol, and I didn't want to patrol anyways. I also knew that hunting was usually more useful for the Clan, especially since ShadowClan was the only border that really needed patrolling, what with the WindClan truce.

I walked around the territory aimlessly for a while, enjoying the feeling of the grass on my feet and wind in my fur. I sort of tried to catch a scent, but really had no intention of doing so. However, as the sun rose my guilt did, so I started hunting.

I went over to the most heavily treed part of our territory, as I hunted squirrels and birds better than mice and voles. If I had had a partner I would've gone to where the last rabbit I smelled was, but I was alone, so I had to hunt smaller prey.

I lurked in the trees for a while, switching between the ground and the high branches. I didn't always like climbing, but today it was fun. The feeling of my claws digging into the bark was amazing, and the scratching sound it made was nice. I could only hear my own thinking, which started off as eerie but I soon realized that it was just the lack of prey nearby.

After a while of knowing that the silence was lack of prey, I finally put together that there was no prey near me. I felt like an idiot for not realizing this earlier, but I didn't beat myself up for very long. I just had to move positions and stalk the whole way and I should find some prey in no time at all.

My prediction proved correct. I stalked slowly through the woods, and soon heard the scratching of mice and the songs of birds. I kept stalking until I was able to see a sparrow. I stopped dead still, making sure I hadn't spooked it, and then slowly crept forwards.

I attacked it just before it noticed me. It tried to fly away, and for a while I was worried it would be successful. There was a wild flapping of wings as I tried to secure my grip in its feathers. It was off the ground, but I wasn't done yet.

I extended my claws as far as I could, as they were barely in the bird's wings. Then, I lunged forwards. The sparrow let out a triumphant call as it rose into the air, but I quickly cut it off as I snapped its neck.

I lackadaisically made my way back to camp. I had only caught one piece of prey, but none of my Clanmates would probably care. After all, I could've been lazy today, but I had decided to hunt instead. With the fact that no one knew I had hunted yet, I assumed I was safe from judgement.

When I entered the camp, I suddenly remembered that I had a mission. I looked around and raised my nose, excited to smell Graystar. I walked over to the fresh-kill pile and dropped off my prey, and then went to his den.

When I reached his den I could smell him and no one else. Or, no other cats' scent was fresh. "Graystar?" I called out, hoping he was free.

"Yes, Silverflower?" he replied

"May I come in?"

"Of course. What do you need today?"

I walked into his den, amazed at what it looked like. I had never been in it before, and it was certainly better than my den. It had beautiful things in it in piles, like shiny rocks and colorful pebbles. His nest had squishy stuff unlike anything else, and it must've felt like sleeping on a cloud. When he saw my astonishment, he explained. "Lots of cats give me gifts. I don't know why, but it would be rude to reject them."

I nodded. "Well, I came in here to talk about ThunderClan."

He looked at me, and I could tell he wasn't excited. However, he kept a professional expression on his face. "What about ThunderClan?'

"Do you think it would be possible for us to merge with them, too? I mean, if we're merging with the whole forest we need them."

He glared. "We're at war with ThunderClan. Why would we want to merge with them?"

I had to think on my feet. The argument I had planned on using last night probably wouldn't work, I was stupid for thinking it would. Then I made a quick decision. "Well, lots of cats have died in this war, right? Well, if we merged with them, we wouldn't have to worry about them stealing our prey anymore since it would be shared prey. And it would save lives. We would merge with them for the same reason we merged with WindClan."

Graystar looked at me knowingly. "You come up with responses well. All right, if you can get ThunderClan to join us- and the rest of the Clan to agree, but I can help there- we can merge."

I was stunned for a bit before I could respond. Even though i was trying, I hadn't expected my plan to actually _work._ Now that it had, I had a lot to do. I had to meet up with Foxfrost again.


	24. Rejected

**Silverflower**

I walked out of Graystar's den with my tail held high. It wasn't even sunhigh yet, so I had plenty of time to see Foxfrost. I was about to exit the camp when he beat me to it. "Hi, Foxfrost," I greeted warily. "Why are you here?"

He looked at me awkwardly. "I'm just a messenger. Birchpatch wants to see you, and he says I should escort you. I mean, I have permission to go into ThunderClan territory. As of yesterday, Tallstar decided it was all right, since ThunderClan agreed. But CaveClan doesn't have permission, so I'm supposed to bring you. We won't be going deep into the territory, but for whatever reason Birchpatch can't leave ThunderClan territory."

I nodded, trying to remember all the information I had just been told. I sometimes forgot things quickly, and I was trying to avoid that today. After all, this could prove to be very valuable information. "I'm pretty much allowed to go wherever I want, that the other Clans allow. So we can go now."

Foxfrost just nodded and darted off. I followed him, smiling at how easy it was for me to run today. I had been getting stronger from my journeys between the Clans, and I could certainly feel it. We quickly passed by the wooded areas where I had gone hunting today, and I wasn't tired at all.

I relished in the fact that the grass brushing across my fur was no longer a sign of my laziness, happy that I could enjoy it to its fullest. The wind was really rushing through my fur now, much more strongly than the light breeze from earlier. I watched as the woods grew farther away and the border came closer.

We stopped when we reached the WindClan border, both of us needing some breath. We had crossed the territory amazingly quickly, and now we were tired. I knew by the look in Foxfrost's eyes that he could keep going if he had to, and so could I, but we didn't want to yet. Once I was breathing a bit more regularly, I made a comment. "Graystar said we could merge. If CaveClan cats agree. And if ThunderClan does."

Foxfrost just nodded a response. He was breathing more heavily than me, and I could guess why. Whenever one of us visited the other, it was almost always me running from my camp to his. He wasn't used to running like I was. I almost laughed at the irony, since I was CaveClan and he was WindClan. But I held it in, not wanting to embarrass him any more than he seemed to be.

"Let's go." It was all he had to say before we took off again.

I looked around as we ran again, trying to memorize some of WindClan's territory. I knew a lot of it from my travels, sending messages and just generally moving around. I had even learned a couple of WindClan battle tricks, which I couldn't show Foxfrost. I may or may not have been there without WindClan's knowledge. It wasn't really _spying,_ I was just curious. But even so, nobody except me knew.

We quickly reached the other WindClan border. I had only been there twice, usually not venturing very far past the WindClan camp. It was nice going there and all, but I felt awkward going any farther than that, especially without an escort. Luckily, I had one. "Wait here," Foxfrost commanded. "Birchpatch will be here soon."

I nodded, intrigued by how much nodding was going on today. I wasn't sure if I just didn't feel like talking or if my lungs were tired, but either way I had nodded a lot. I tried to focus on catching my breath and random things like rabbits and grass. I didn't want to be bored.

Thankfully, I didn't have much time to be bored. Foxfrost looked at himself like he was an idiot and then gestured to me with a flick of his head. "We were supposed to go into the territory a bit. I forgot, sorry."

I shrugged. "I've never been in ThunderClan territory before." Foxfrost didn't seem eager to continue conversation, and so it died there.

I stuck very close to Foxfrost, almost stepping on his paws. The openness quickly turned into forests, and the dark was deep. There was a lot of undergrowth here, and I had a hard time not tripping. I was very grateful when we stopped and Foxfrost said we were where we were supposed to wait.

Now that I was in ThunderClan territory it was easy not to be bored. I jumped at every sound, even when I knew it was prey. I didn't even know what was so scary, but something was.

I sighed with relief when I smelled Birchpatch coming. He walked to where we were sitting and yowled a greeting, this time with happiness in his eyes rather than hate. "Hi Foxfrost, hi Silverflower!"

I stood up. "Hi, Birchpatch! What do you need?"

He seemed ashamed of what he was about to say. "Firestar said no. He said CaveClan would never agree, and he said we were at war so we shouldn't. Sorry."

I grinned. "Well, tell you what. Graystar did agree. He said that if I got the cats to agree we could merge. All of the queens should come easy, since they think their kits shouldn't enter a dumb war. The elders and warriors will probably agree, too. It'll take some convincing, but it should work. Also, about the war part, tell him this: Lots of cats have died in this war, which is sad. If we merged, we wouldn't have to worry about stealing prey since it would be shared. And, it would save lives. We would merge with you for the same reason you merged with WindClan."

Birchpatch looked at me and nodded, seemingly in a trance. "That... actually makes a lot of sense. I'll tell him that as soon as possible. Bye."

I smiled. "Of course it does. Thanks, bye."

I darted away, happy to be out of ThunderClan territory. I knew Foxfrost was following me, but I parted without words. I didn't feel like talking. By his lack of goodbye, he felt the same way.


	25. Amazing Rivers of Beauty

**Silverflower**

Today was another big day. Today, I was going to try to talk to RiverClan. Most cats in CaveClan never thought about them; we didn't share a border and we weren't at war. But they were part of the forest, so they were on my list.

At first, I had had a problem with how to get to them. However, I had Fourtrees. That solved my first problem. My other problem was how to talk to them. Luckily, Graystar had taken care of that for me. He had announced our merging with WindClan, and had said that we wouldn't mind merging with more Clans. ThunderClan was annoyed at that, but they could deal with it. I had to talk to RiverClan.

And so, my next journey began. I had hardly ever talked to a RiverClan cat, only once having met one at a Gathering. Even then, I had thought it was a ShadowClan cat and had been trying to get ShadowClan to merge, so our conversation hadn't lasted long. I still hadn't gotten ShadowClan to merge with us, but they were next on my mental list. You would think I would include ThunderClan, but in my mind they were won over.

I had gotten Graystar's permission to try and merge with them under the same rules he gave me with ThunderClan. If I could get both of our Clans to agree, then we were fine. I also had to get his permission to actually try, but he granted that easily. We weren't in need of warriors at the moment, we had over ten that were good hunters. We also hadn't had a battle in a while, and with ThunderClan's relationship with us the way it currently was, it wasn't likely. WindClan couldn't attack us and ShadowClan didn't like to be so close, so I was spared from being in the camp in case of an attack.

That meant I was free to go today. Yesterday I had been on border patrol, but today I had nothing planned. On some days I would've hunted, but today I had remembered RiverClan. And now I was on my expedition to Fourtrees.

The trip didn't seem as long as it used to, but I knew I was just getting strong. As I walked I recalled my trips to WindClan territory and how easy they were getting. I could get nearly to their camp without having to take a break these days. I was tired, but I could do it. I was using those skills now, as I wanted to get to Fourtrees as early as possible.

I reached Fourtrees before sunhigh, a feat of which I was proud. I had gotten up early for that very purpose, and I had been successful. I took a bit of a break to catch my breath and admire the oaks, as well as playing on the Highrock a bit, but I was on a mission and I couldn't stop long.

I walked over to the RiverClan border, hoping they followed the same rules that ThunderClan did. I figured they wouldn't even consider ThunderClan's path of talking to me if I met a patrol, but it was worth a try. After all, it was the best plan I had.

I knew I should be seeing a patrol sometime soon, as sunhigh was approaching. I could hardly do anything while I waited, as I couldn't hunt in sacred territory and I didn't have a friend. But I decided that today was as good a day to learn patience as any. And so I waited for a time that felt like an eternity.

I admit, I dozed a bit while waiting. I wasn't actually asleep, but I wasn't fully conscious either. I was jolted out of my thoughts and plans by a new scent on the wind, a scent that I knew.

I promptly stood up and perked my ears as a RiverClan patrol approached. I prayed to StarClan that they would be willing to talk to me. If they weren't willing to talk on patrol I would have to wait until a full moon, and my next Gathering was likely to be taken by ShadowClan.

I heard rustling in the forest around me and waited anxiously. I was about to find out how they would react to me. I saw ears peeking through the grass and heard one of the warriors trying to convince another that there was a cat by them. I realized that the wind was pushing my scent away from them, so I must be hard to smell.

I forced myself to wait as they got closer to the border. I didn't know why a border patrol would be so far away, but I had to follow the Warrior Code. I couldn't go onto their territory without an invitation or a battle. Even if I wasn't trained otherwise, I didn't want to seem like a threat and ruin my first impression.

Finally, the cats were close enough to the border-and far enough out of the undergrowth-to see me. They looked at me curiously, and I waited for them to speak. There were only two of them, and their stances quickly made it clear who was the superior. "What are you doing here?"

I steeled myself and hoped that I would speak correctly. I was decent at speaking to cats of other Clans nowadays, but it would still be hard. "I was hoping to talk to you about merging." It was abrupt, but I was a blunt cat.

"Why would we want to merge with..." The leader stopped to scent the air. "CaveClan?"

I thought about my plans. "Honestly, you might not gain much from it. You can hardly go on our territory because we aren't really connected. But, you would gain an ally and lose a potential threat."

The younger cat looked confused as to what was going on, but the older warrior seemed to be considering what I had said. "You don't know who I am, do you?"

I shook my head. "I hardly know any RiverClan cats."

The senior let out a chuckle. "And you still want to merge? If you had friends it would make more sense."

"I want the Clans to be together so we don't have as many premature deaths. If the Clans were together we would be stronger. We would know more about herbs and how to fight off wild animals. We wouldn't have wars, so we would have more life. I'm sure you don't want your Clanmates to die any more than I do."

The senior looked at me, seemingly in unbelief that I still didn't recognize her. "I don't want my Clan to die."

I gasped. "You're a leader? And you're talking to _me_?" I didn't think of leaders as necessarily automatically better than others, but it _was_ an honor to be talked to so seriously. And she was considering my plan! It was amazing.

"Yes, you have a good plan. I think I can probably manage, after all, I won't lose anything."

I nodded excitedly. "Yes! There's nothing to be lost with this plan. That's one of the best things." I was still somewhat in awe that a leader would like my plan so much. Graystar did, of course, but this was a leader of another Clan. It was unexpected and unlikely.

"I'll talk to my Clan. Goodbye!" Leopardstar started walking away with a grin on her face. Obviously she had noticed my amazement, but it hadn't been hard. I strolled off, still dumbfounded at how well the day had gone. I still had a lot of a day left, and I had convinced the RiverClan leader _herself_ that my plan was good.


	26. Jell-O

**Silverflower**

As I walked back to camp, I planned the rest of my day. It had gone too well so far to let the rest of it go to waste hunting or something, so I wanted to do something useful. I pondered over the best thing to do for a while. I didn't have time to talk to ShadowClan, I would have to cross all of our territory. ThunderClan was out for the same reason.

There was a thing to do that I was trying to force from my mind. I didn't want to do it; it was the most difficult and boring part of my plan. Talking to the other Clans was easy during the Gathering, or whenever I could get permission. And it was fun to meet cats for the first time, and know that they lived a life entirely different from mine.

This part of my plan involved none of the above. I had to try and convince the rest of my Clan to merge with ThunderClan and RiverClan. _Not the rest of your Clan, the majority._ I almost laughed at how I used to be happy that we now had so many warriors. I had to convince most of them to patch up an age-old war.

 _But you have to._ It was true. I had to do it; otherwise my plan would never be complete. It was a boring and tedious task, but it was a task that had to be finished. I sighed and hurried my pace. I had a lot of talking to do, and I wanted to do as much of it as possible today.

I walked into the camp and started scanning for the easiest targets. I knew it would be easy to get Flowerfur to say yes, as she already agreed with my plan. The same thing applied to Tawnyflower. Scratchears probably wouldn't be too hard; he was most likely getting tired of watching out for ThunderClan attacks.

I walked up to Flowerfur, happy to have an easy start. "Hey, Flowerfur!"

She looked over at me. "Graystar told me you needed to get the Clan to agree, so yes."

I stepped back. That was admittedly a bit easier than I had expected, but I was grateful for it. It saved time for the rest of the Clan. "Tawnyflower said yes, too," she added.

That really surprised me, but I was happy to accept an easy conversation. It couldn't hurt to have another cat cconvinced right away. "Oh. Thanks!" I walked off, looking for Scratchears.

I was so intent in my search that I almost ran into Meadowsky. My eyes lit up as I added a section to my easy-to-convince list: the queens. Most of them would agree so save their kits from a worthless war. "Meadowsky?" I said, trying to get her attention.

"Hm? Oh, what is it, Silverflower?" She seemed surprised that I was talking to her, and it made sense. I rarely talked to other CaveClan cats, mostly only hanging out with Foxfrost and working on my plan.

I forced myself to meet her eyes. Looking uncertain wouldn't help my cause. "Well, you know how we merged with WindClan?"

She nodded. "I was wondering if you would be interested in merging with ThunderClan, too."

Meadowsky seemed taken aback. "We're at _war_ with them!" Her reply surprised me. I had expected queens to want us to end the war, not worry about it. And certainly not seem upset because of it.

"I know, but it'll be safer for the whole forest," I relied desperately. _Calm down, look confident._ "And if we're merged they can't steal our prey. And, then your kits can serve a better purpose." I prayed to StarClan that she would agree. I wasn't sure if StarClan agreed, but I had no one else to pray to.

She looked off and seemed to consider what I said. "You need me to agree or Graystar won't let you?"

I nodded. "I need the majority of the Clan to agree to it. I assume he means warriors, elders, apprentices, and queens."

She nodded. "All right. I want my kits to be something great."

I let out a sigh of relief and then smiled. I had expected her to be easy, but once she opposed me I thought I would have to talk for a long time to convince her. "Great, thank you!" This wasn't so bad. I already had three cats.

I still wanted to convince Scratchears, since having four cats who agreed wouldn't hurt. I figured that Meadowsky would help me in the nursery, but the queens were not the majority of the Clan. I saw Scratchears across the camp and darted to him. "Hey, Scratchears, I need to ask you something."

He looked over his shoulder at me. "What is it?"

I tried to interpret his tone. The wording could be inviting but it could be harsh, and I didn't want to start talking to him if he was in a bad mood. It could mess up his outlook forever. However, he turned to me and seemed interested, so I started explaining. "Well, I'm trying to convince some cats to merge with ThunderClan. I figured you probably wanted the war to end, so I would ask you."

He shrugged. "How many cats agree with you so far?"

"Four in CaveClan, if you count Graystar." I wasn't sure if Graystar counted or not. He was a CaveClan cat, but he was the leader.

"Sure. I don't see why not."

I turned to leave when I remembered something. "What about RiverClan?"

"I don't see why not. We're hardly even connected."

I nodded excitedly. He used the same logic that Leoparstar used. Of course, I didn't much care what any cat's logic was as long as they agreed.

I walked away, still planning on getting more cats today. I had four down. Of course, they were the easiest, but they were still four cats who agreed. And, now that I started it wasn't so bad. I just had to brace myself for the next wave.

* * *

 **Here's your new chapter! Don't worry about how easy things are going, they're going to get harder. This is just the beginning.**


	27. More Cats!

**Silverflower**

I had gotten the easiest part of the hardest part done. I should've been happy, but I was scared. Even as I was working, I was procrastinating. Sure, I had almost reached my goal of the majority of the Clan- Meadowsky and Scratchears helped me influence a lot of cats- but that part was pretty easy. Now I really had to work.

Meadowsky had used all of her influence to help me, and now she couldn't be any more useful. Flowerfur and my mom wouldn't help me for whatever reason- something about character. I think they rejected me so I had to work. And Scratchears was too busy to help me any more, so now I was all alone.

I wasn't sure who to start with now. All of the warriors I expected to be hard to convince were big and scary. Kittish, I know, but it's true. Unless you're a senior warrior, older cats are probably always scary. And I wasn't very old yet, so they're almost all scary.

I decided to talk to Flowermist first. If you asked me for a reason I wouldn't be able to tell you, but I chose her. Maybe because she was a she-cat too, or maybe because she wasn't too much older than me. She would be hard to convince, because she had fought many of the ThunderClan battles. But she was worth a try.

I walked around the camp and saw her on the other edge. I walked over to her, trying to keep my hopes up. Maybe she would be easier to convince than I expected. "Hey, Flowermist?"

"NO!"

 _What the heck?_ "No... What?" Had someone other than me talked to her?

"I won't let CaveClan merge with ThunderClan and RiverClan!" All right, apparently someone had.

"Just hear me out, ok?"

"NO!" It would seem as though I made the wrong choice.

"Why?"

"Those piles of mouse-dung aren't worth us!"

I wanted to yell right back at her, but that would be useless. I had to try and convince her in a civilized matter, as frustrating as that may be. "What do you mean 'worth' us?"

"Those mousebrains keep attacking us!"

"We attack them, too."

"Only when necessary!" Ok, different tactic.

"We'd get prey." I looked at her with the best "this-is-completely-wonderful" face I could manage.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if we merged we would be allowed to hunt on their territory."

"Yeah, but they could hunt on ours."

I was getting really angry. She looked so mad and certain of herself; it was driving me insane. But I could keep myself composed for now. "Yeah, you're right. You're really smart." Flattery was a low blow, but it was worth a try.

"Thanks, but it's not gonna work."

"Fine!" I snapped. _What was that?_ "Sorry about that, I got upset. What about..." I had to think of something fast. "If we merge they'll finally stop attacking you. I know you broke your leg once in battle and couldn't hunt for moons."

She seemed to consider that. "Cool, but I don't want to be a mouse-heart."

 _What is this cat's obsession with mice?_ "But you wouldn't be. Think about it. You could improve the Clan, it's territory, nd your health."

She looked off. "Fine, but don't mention me by name unless you absolutely have to."

I beamed. "Deal!"

* * *

 **Later that day...**

I had gotten Flowermist. I still had a challenge. I needed two more cats. Two more ThunderClan hating, annoying, most likely stubborn cats. But I had to try, and I had to keep trying. Maybe if I went to the right place I could kill two mice with one pounce.

Doing that proved easier thought than done. All the cats who hadn't agreed seemed to have spread out so no two were ever in the same place. I surrendered myself to having to go to two cats, and having to go through two more long and tedious arguments. I knew the reward would be worth it in the long run, but for now it was hard.

I didn't know which warrior to pick next. I knew from earlier that my intuition wasn't all that great, but it was al I had. My mind settled upon Stonestrike, again without reason.

He was not in the camp. _Darn._ I would have to track him down, since I didn't feel like choosing another warrior. Who knew? Maybe I would run into a different warrior on the way.

I quickly found out that I would not run into a different warrior but into him. As I was following his scent I nearly ran into him and his mouthful of prey, which he dropped. "Hey, Silverflower!"

 _Dang, he's nice._ It would be a lot harder to debate someone who was friendly. Sure, I would be less likely to get angry. But he would seem more alive and more cat to me, so I would have to worry more about his feelings. "I wanted to talk to you about the pending ThunderClan and RiverClan merge."

He demeanor suddenly changed. "I'd be happy to talk, but not about that."

"Just hear me out, ok?" It was unlikely, but it couldn't hurt to try.

"Fine."

That was nice. I wouldn't have to badger him like Flowermist. _But she gave in._ I hardly knew Stonestrike, so I wouldn't know what to try. "Well, why wouldn't you want to merge?" It was easier to destroy points than to make them.

"Well, for one, ThunderClan isn't trustworthy."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "The squirrel thing?"

"Well, that and a lot of things," he replied. Something was different about him from Flowermist. He was calmer and more knowledgeable. "They sneak attack and try to encircle us. It's a bunch of low blows."

I nodded. "Well, that may be true, but don't you think we would do the same if we had thought about it?"

"We probably would, but we're defending. They're attacking."

"That does boil down to the squirrel thing."

He looked at me and chuckled. "I guess it's hard not to make points about the squirrel thing, but I know you can destroy that."

That was off-putting. He knew me, but I didn't know him. "Yeah, that's true."

He sat down. He seemed to be _enjoying_ this. That would be annoying, but I was enjoying it too. "Well, they've killed our cats," he finally said.

"And us theirs."

"Wow, you're quick today."

Today? He must watch me or something. Oh well. I didn't mind. He didn't seem like he would attack me, being my Clanmate and all. "Anything else you want to say?" I asked with a playful glint in my eyes.

"Hm... well, their territory is virtually useless to us. We're so unattached."

"Yes, but that means it won't hurt us at all. And, if a huge fire comes through our territory we'll be able to go there to hide."

He cocked his head to the side. "I guess you win this debate," he chuckled. "You can tell Graystar I say yes."

I grinned. "Thanks!"

This was proving easier than I thought. _One more cat to go._


	28. Nope!

**Silverflower**

I woke up upset. Yesterday I hadn't been on any patrols, so today I would probably be on one. That could easily be a great thing. If I was on a patrol with someone who I hadn't recruited yet, I could try and convince them while they were near me and couldn't escape. However, it could also easily take a good chunk of my day without my making any progress on my plan. I just had to hope it was the previous option or neither option.

I waited in the clearing hopefully as all of the patrols were called out. Things had gone pretty well so far; I wasn't on a patrol and all of the leaders didn't like me. I was almost safe when some shocking words rang out: "Silverflower, you will lead the dusk border patrol. Gather two or three more cats and be ready to leave at dusk."

That was surprising. I wasn't the eldest warrior or the most capable, so I had no idea why he would choose me. I was spooked at first, but then I realized how I could play that to my advantage. If I asked Flowerfur, who was with me and was more experienced, and another cat I hadn't recruited, I might be able to reach my goal. I happened to be acquainted with a certain cat I could try to convince, and so my miniature plan was formed.

I walked over to Flowerfur as the warriors dispersed. "Hey, Flowerfur?"

She turned and looked at me. "What is it? Do you need me on your patrol?"

I nodded. "It would be nice."

She smiled. "Sure. I don't have an apprentice or anything. But why?"

I shrugged. "You're my friend, and you're experienced in leading patrols."

She looked at me disapprovingly. "And that's it?"

I laughed. "No. You agree with my plan, and if I can bring another cat who I haven't convinced on the patrol I might be able to convince them."

Flowerfur grinned. "That's more like you. That sounds good, but try to recruit someone else before then."

I knew what she meant. Duckflame could be impossible or nearly so to convince, so I should try to get someone before the patrol to be safe. The problem was choosing who to try for.

I was running low on warriors, so my choice was going to be easier. Not Sunstreak, since he was grumpy and harsh. Not Sandlight, because she was old and scary. Not Shellsplash, since he was very much against ThunderClan and had proudly killed two of their warriors. He had almost been exiled for it.

That left me with Beetlefire and Honeywhisker. In a quick decision I chose to try and convince Honeywhisker, because she came to mind faster. Also because she shouldn't be hard to find; she wasn't on a patrol and she usually only hunted near the camp.

It didn't take me long to catch Honeywhisker's scent. She had a very distinctive scent, even more so than the average cat's. I walked up to her cautiously, making sure she wasn't hunting. Once I was assured that she was just on a walk, I called out to her. "Hi, Honeywhisker!"

"Hi, Silverflower! What do you need?"

Honeywhisker was surprisingly cheery. There wasn't much to be sad about, but that didn't men everyone was happy. "I wanted to talk about the possible ThunderClan and RiverClan merges."

She glared at me. "I don't want to talk about it."

I sighed. This was bound to happen, but I would try anyways. "Why?"

"Because."

I sighed again, more deeply. "I can't discuss this rationally if you won't give me a reason." I didn't mean to sound condescending, but it was true.

"Good."

"Please, let's discuss this."

"You say discuss too much."

"I guess. Let's talk this over." This was going nowhere.

"Or we could not."

What was wrong with this cat? We should be able to talk! "But why? It could be good."

"Or it could be awful. Stop badgering me."

I shook my head. "I've convinced other cats through badgering."

"Well, it won't work on me. Go away or I'll start hunting and accuse you of scaring away prey."

I shook my head and left. "Fine. Have a nice day," I commented with a dry tone. "Bye." Hopefully Duckflame would listen to me more.

I found Duckflame and she agreed to be on my patrol. It was hard to reject me, since it wasn't allowed, but it was still nice for her to easily say yes. I quickly found random things to occupy myself until dusk, and the time flew. I was almost late to the first patrol I led.

"Hi." No one responded. Apparently we didn't talk very much on patrols. "Well, I guess we'll go."

We walked out of the camp and towards the ShadowClan border. I led, of course, and tried to not glare at the territory. ShadowClan was still rejecting my apparently futile attempts to get them to merge. I would have to try and get them to merge next.

After we were almost to the border, I slowed down and let Flowerfur take the lead. She nodded at me encouragingly, and Duckflame just looked confused. "I wanted to talk to you."

She nodded. "About the merge?"

"Yeah. I need one more cat to agree before Graystar will allow it."

She shrugged. "We can merge with RiverClan, but not ThunderClan."

After my last discussion, her apparent willingness was overjoying. "Why not ThunderClan? I mean, thanks for RiverClan, but why?"

She shrugged again. "I don't like them."

I almost stopped walking in surprise. " _That's_ why? I expected something more."

"Well, that's why."

"Well, why don't you like them? I happen to know a ThunderClan cat."

"Is he nice?"

"Yeah! He helped me convince Firestar to allow the merge."

She grinned. "Ok then. Sure."

"Wow. Thanks." I should've asked her earlier. Now I was happy. As soon as the patrol was over I could tell Graystar, and we could merge with two more Clans. I was 75% of the way to a finished plan.


	29. Took You Long Enough

**Silverflower**

When we finished patrolling the border, I ran to camp as fast as I could. I knew I would get back before Flowerfur and Duckflame, but they seemed to understand. I was better at running than anyone else in my Clan, and at this distance I would even have to stop and catch my breath.

I almost shrieked with delight when I saw the camp. I was almost there, almost able to join RiverClan and ThunderClan to our Clan. I couldn't wait to tell Graystar. It was some of the best news possible.

I ran into the camp, still almost going full speed ahead. I felt pebbles digging into my paws, since I was running so haphazardly. I didn't mind. I had to find Graystar as soon as possible. It wasn't time sensitive, and I knew it, but I wanted to tell him right away.

I saw Honeywhisker as I was running to Graystar's den, and she looked at me with disgust. _She knows what's going on. She doesn't like me._ I was fazed by the thought, but I quickly pushed it away. _It doesn't matter, it's for the good of the Clan._

I reached Graystar's den, but to my dismay he wasn't in it. _Where would he be? He wasn't on a hunting patrol._ Oh well. I could scent him easily.

For once, I was right. I found his scent trail just outside of his den and followed it eagerly. He had been gone for a long time, so he could be anywhere. I just hoped he hadn't gone to the Moonstone.

I followed the trail far across the territory. I was getting tired from all my running, and that was saying something. I stopped to catch my breath and realized that the scent was a lot stronger; I was getting closer.

I had finally recovered enough to start running again. I ran as fast as I could, stretching my legs and ignoring how sore they were getting. I wanted to give up and just tell Graystar tomorrow, but I also didn't. It's way too hard to explain.

I entered a clearing and saw Graystar talking with... Leopardstar? It seemed to be her. That was a good sign. However, even if Graystar was talking to the leader, he wouldn't do anything without the approval of the Clan. I still had to tell him. "Hey, Graystar?"

"What is it, Silverflower?" He seemed annoyed at my having interrupted him, but he could deal with it. It was big news.

"I talked to a whole bunch of warriors-"

"And what did they say?" _What, does he not want me to convince the Clan? No, he's just impatient._

"I got enough cats to agree. We're good." I smiled my biggest, and he smiled too.

"Great! Sorry for being short, but me and Leopardstar-oh, this is Leopardstar by the way- were talking about the merge."

I grinned. "We've met. Good to hear, since I worked hard to convince the Clan to merge," I joked.

He nodded. "Of course you did. Now go hunting or something, we need to keep talking."

"Can I try to talk to ShadowClan?"

He just nodded and I ran off again. _Yay, more running._ Today was going to be a long day.

But it was worth it. I had a stitch in my side and my legs were killing me, but I wasn't going to stop now. Right now I was willing to try and work hard, but tomorrow it would be harder. I had to keep trying and keep working, no matter what. Today I was pumped, tomorrow was unpredictable.

I knew that I was going slower than I normally went, and that there was a good chance nobody would be out by the time I got there. But I was going to try anyways. It was worth a try.

I made my way to Fourtrees when the sun was almost completely down and the moon was rising. I was nearly exhausted, but I had reached ShadowClan territory. There was almost no chance that somebody would come by, and even smaller chances that somebody would actually invite me in, but I lurked anyways. It only hurt me.

The moon kept slowly rising, bathing my in it's white light. I admired it's beauty and lost track of the fact that I was supposed to be waiting for somebody to invite me in. When I was jerked out of my admiration by my realization, I took a deep breath. I couldn't smell any cats nearby, and us cats can smell for a long ways. It was clear to me that no cats were coming.

A gust of wind came, and I tried to catch the scent of any ShadowClan cat. There wasn't any, so I knew that tonight my trek was useless. I turned and went back to camp, still admiring the moon. It was large and round, and nearly full.

I suddenly remembered Gatherings, and the fact that it had been three moons since I went to one. There would be one soon, and ShadowClan warriors would be there. I could talk to them there and try to convince them. It hadn't worked the past few times, but I could try again. Some ThunderClan cats might even try to convince them.

I reached the camp and slunk into my nest, exhausted. I ran way too much today. I had to plan for tomorrow, about asking Graystar if I could go to the Gathering. It was considered rude to ask, but I was often considered an exception. I was a planner, trying to bring peace to the world. It was a long journey, but it was almost done. I fell asleep partway through my plans, but I formed something. I would have to ask tomorrow, and make a good case. ShadowClan wasn't going to be convinced easily.


	30. I'M BACK

**Silverflower**

I woke up bright and early. I wanted to get to Graystar's den before he left. I didn't know where he would go, but he had a habit of being outside the camp.

Luckily, Graystar was in his den. Sadly, he was still asleep. I didn't want to waste my time, but I didn't want him to leave the camp while I wasn't watching. Until he was awake, Scratchears probably wouldn't call out the patrols. And so, I decided to lurk.

I waited outside his den for who knows how long. I kept shifting positions since the old ones would get uncomfortable. After a while I worried that he had died in his sleep or something, but he was a leader so that shouldn't be a problem. And besides, he was breathing.

Finally, he woke up. I saw him stir slightly, and his head popped up. "What is it, Silverflower?"

"I had a question to ask you," I replied, slightly ashamed now at my having waited.

He looked at me, seemingly confused. "How long have you been waiting for me to wake up?"

I looked at the sun. "Well, judging by where the sun is, I have no idea." It seemed like a stupid way to keep conversation going, but I answered his question. I didn't know what else to say.

"Well, what did you want to ask me?"

"I was hoping I could go to the next Gathering."

He seemed disapproving of my remark. "Normally cats don't ask for these things. Scratchears and I would usually decide."

I nodded. "Yeah, but ShadowClan is the only Clan I'm yet to convince, so I was hoping I could go and talk to them."

He shrugged. "All right. You're pretty good at convincing Clans. I'll have to wish you luck with ShadowClan, though. They're stubborn."

I nodded again. "I've been trying to convince them for moons, but they won't listen."

He looked at me reassuringly. "You'll find a way. It's a good plan."

"Thanks." I trotted off with my tail held high. Today was good so far.

* * *

 **Later... I just needed entrance fluff**

 **Silverflower**

I waited impatiently for the Gathering group to leave. I was supposed to be patient, but it was hard when I was so close to having united the whole forest. I only needed one more Clan. I was so close I could taste it.

I kneaded the ground until my paws were sore. I got annoyed at myself, since I knew it was a long walk to the Fourtrees, but I tried to ignore it. I was impatient and bored.

We finally got going, and I thought we were going to be late. The moon was already partially up, and we had a long way to talk. I would've just ran if it was considered acceptable.

Graystar started us off at a run, but I hadn't the slightest idea why. We weren't going to be _that_ late, and running would make all of us tired. Or, most of us. I thought Graystar would be able to run the whole way.

I was trying my hardest to smell any other Clans during the entire run. With a bit of luck, we wouldn't be the last ones there. _StarClan help me tonight!_

I got a whiff of scent and tried to analyze which Clan it was from. I could smell ThunderClan, but I didn't catch any others-yet. That was nice, but also somewhat useless. I needed CaveClan _and_ ShadowClan to not be the last Clans.

When we reached Fourtrees I started kneading the ground again. We only had so much time before moonhigh arrived, and ShadowClan wasn't there yet. I kept waiting anxiously until I finally caught their scent.

 _Thank StarClan, they're not the last Clan this time!_ I scanned for any good cats to try to convince. I quickly passed over the leader, since he would be busy. He also probably wouldn't take me seriously. I ignored the deputy, too, since he would be with the leader. I knew that apprentices would be virtually useless as well. I noticed Rosepaw and Nightpaw, who were probably warriors now. They had already rejected me, harshly and repeatedly, so I decided not to bother with them.

Finally, I noticed some warriors I hadn't talked to yet. Or, at least, I didn't remember talking to them. There were two of them together, which could be a good thing or a bad thing, but I believe I've explained that already.

I walked up to them, trying to seem confident and friendly. It seems like a simple task, but it's harder than it sounds. "Hi, I'm Silverflower."

The cats looked over to me, one of them glaring. "Hi, I'm Ambermist," the more polite one said.

"Sorry if I interrupted," I apologized, trying to fix any anger I had caused. ShadowClan cats were difficult enough when they didn't hate me.

"It's fine! We're at Gatherings to meet new cats! My grumpy friend is Tansyfur."

"Nice to meet you, Tansyfur."

Tansyfur kept glaring at me. "What do you want?"

I was taken aback by her rudeness, but I tried to recover quickly. "Actually, I wanted to talk about the rift between our Clans."

Ambermist seemed interested, but Tansyfur just kept glaring at me. "What about it?" Ambermist inquired.

"Well, I was hoping to patch it."

Tansyfur's hate seemed to grow as long as I kept talking. "Well, too bad. We hate your Clan and you hate ours."

I shook my head. "I think ShadowClan cats can be nice." I hadn't met a nice one, but they probably could me.

Ambermist started glaring at Tansyfur. Apparently I had started a war. "Well, I'm interested. Let's go talk."

I grinned with excitement. This was the most convinced a ShadowClan cat had ever been. "Oh, sure!"

As we walked off, Ambermist continued the conversation. "You're that cat that keeps merging the Clans, right?"

I nodded. "I was hoping to do the same with ShadowClan."

Ambermist lit up completely when I said that. "I was hoping you would say that! I was way too scared to ask."

"Really? You're the only ShadowClan cat who has even considered my offer."

Ambermist seemed stunned. "What the Dark Forest? It's a great idea!"

I nodded. "I thought the same thing," I joked.

She laughed. "You don't say?"

We kept talking and laughing until the Gathering began. Today was one of my most successful days yet.


	31. Making Progress

**Silverflower**

Merging with ShadowClan was going to be harder than my stroke of luck would have me expecting. I thought that having one cat who agreed with me would be plenty. When I got to our camp, I realized that I was terribly wrong.

Most of the cats here didn't have hard feelings for ShadowClan. ShadowClan usually ignored CaveClan, and CaveClan usually ignored ShadowClan. It stopped wars and kept the peace, so we were happy. CaveClan was, not ShadowClan.

ShadowClan still hated us for reasons I didn't know. That meant that if Ambermist was pushed to the same deal I had, this was hopeless. ShadowClan would probably never be convinced.

That just meant I had to form a new plan. I couldn't convince ShadowClan to like CaveClan, because ShadowClan is mostly full of stubborn snobs. But if I could find out why they hated us so much, I might be able to do something. Hopefully I didn't have any patrols tomorrow.

When I woke up, I ran straight to Graystar's den. He was probably getting used to this. He popped his head out and just said "You don't have any patrols today. I saw you with that ShadowClan cat. Go visit them."

I grinned. He seriously thought my plan could work. "Thanks!"

I darted off, wanting to reach the ShadowClan border as soon as I could. It wasn't dawn yet, so I might be able to beat the patrol. The warriors on it might ignore me and leave, but some of them had been willing to talk to me. I had to hope I would be lucky.

I had hardly gone across half of our territory before I could feel fatigue slipping into my legs and my brain. I was slightly confused until I remembered last night. I had stayed up past moonhigh and I got up before dawn. It was certainly going to be a long day, and I would be tired, but I had to try my best.

I knew that getting to the border completely exhausted would be worthless. I also knew that eating something would give me a little bit of an energy boost. And so, I went hunting.

Prey was getting a bit scarce, so it took me a while to scent anything. I kept moving slowly towards the ShadowClan border as I hunted, not wanting to lose too much time. When I finally scented something, I knew I would have to kill it fast or risk it crossing the border.

I crept up to it, stalking more carefully than I had in days. Usually I could risk being a bit careless, but this time the prey could easily be lost forever. When I was only a tail-length away, I leaped. I landed on the piece of prey, which was revealed to be a mouse, and killed it with a bite to the neck.

I devoured my kill and could instantly feel the energy flowing through my veins. At least I would be awake when I was talking to the ShadowClan cats. My next step was getting to talk to them.

I walked up to the border and sat down, waiting. It shouldn't be too long until they showed up. The sun was steadily rising, so they should be here any time.

When i first arrived I was worried that I had missed them, but I couldn't smell them. I also knew that a trip from the camp to any border would take quite a while, so I should be safe. I tried to smell them from afar, but to no avail.

After a while, I started getting antsy. I knew that the Warrior Code said that ShadowClan had to have patrols, but I wasn't sure if it specifically mentioned a dawn patrol. And maybe they ignored the Warrior Code. I was waiting for ShadowClan; they weren't exactly the most noble of Clans.

However, I soon realized that it hadn't been very long. I also noticed that the grass in front of me was swishing, and I could smell ShadowClan warriors. I readied myself to speak when I found it necessary. "Hi, I'm Silverflower."

I looked around at the cats while waiting for their response. Three of them were glaring at me, but one was calm. Ambermist wasn't there, and I tried to decide if that was good or bad. I decided it was a good thing, since that meant I had another opportunity to convince somebody to merge.

A large tom stepped forward, resting his paw on the border. "If you're not on a patrol, why are you so near _our_ border?"

I wanted to spit that it wasn't ShadowClan's border, but I knew that wasn't a battle worth fighting. Instead, I tried to look completely calm about his advances, and I spoke. "I wanted to ask you a question."

He glared at me. "You think you're worthy of speaking to ShadowClan?"

I was preparing a retort when a she-cat walked up to the border, pushing back the tom. "That's enough, Adderheart." She turned to me and looked at me reassuringly. "Don't mind him, he's always been overprotective of ShadowClan. What did you want to ask?"

I wasn't sure whether or not she was trustworthy, but I had to ask someone the question and she was as good as any. "Why does ShadowClan hate CaveClan?"

She seemed taken aback at my inquiry, but she quickly composed herself. "What are you talking about?"

"Well," I responded, "I've been trying to convince ShadowClan cats to merge with CaveClan. Almost all of them have screeched that they don't need us and I should leave them alone. Seeing as CaveClan almost always does leave them alone, I don't know why they would hate us."

"We don't need you," she replied sternly. Then she softened her voice and said, "I think that's all they were trying to say."

"But I don't think you do!"

She glared at me. "Then why would you want to merge?"

"Because it's safer."

I could see hate brewing in her previously calm eyes. "Safer?! So you _do_ think we need you!"

"No!" I tried not to screech, but my voice was louder than I had intended anyways. "No," I repeated, more calmly. "I think that it would simply make the forest better if we merged."

I saw her calm down slightly as I did the same. "Safer for who?"

"For everyone. ShadowClan is quite a threat to CaveClan," I lied through my teeth. I figured we could take them if we had to, but I wanted peace, not dominance. "And CaveClan might be able to do some damage to ShadowClan if we chose. If we became allies, it would make for a lower kill rate."

I could see my flattery working. She relaxed completely when I made it seem that we needed them more than they needed us. "What's the catch?"

"Well, I was hoping for a merge. It wouldn't be a complete merge by any means. ShadowClan would still be ShadowClan, and CaveClan would still be CaveClan. But if either of the Clans hit a rough patch, we could hunt on the other Clan's territory. Of course, nothing too much. Just a rabbit here and there, and only when completely necessary."

She seemed to consider my offer, and I noticed the other cats considering too. "I'll think about it," she replied. "Foxstar might not approve, but you make a fine offer. I'll consider talking to him."

"Thank you," I meowed, trying to seem sincere. I was somewhat sincere, but I still thought ShadowClan cats were jerks. At least I was making good progress.

* * *

 **As most of you probably realized, Foxstar isn't canon. I figured Brokenstar would just kill everyone, and Nightstar died really quickly, so I made my own leader. That fact that I don't like either of those leaders also had an impact. The story's going to stay off-canon in ShadowClan, because I don't want Tigerstar to become a thing.**


	32. More Running

**Silverflower**

I got up just after dawn and started leisurely making my way towards the ShadowClan border. Graystar really wanted me to get my plan going, so I figured I was safe in assuming that I wasn't going to have any patrols. No one yelled for me or tried to get me to stay, so I was probably good.

I had already probably missed the dawn patrol, so I could take my time in reaching the border. I didn't eat before I left, deciding to stop along the way and hunt. The Clan wouldn't really lose any prey, since I was going to eat either way. This way, I got to have some fun.

I kept walking along, enjoying the feeling of the sun on my back. It was warm and lovely. Some cats got annoyed with how hot it could be at times, but I loved it. The dew on the grass was glittering, and some birds were chirping. Unlucky birds, really, as I was going to hunt soon.

After a ways of walking, my belly rumbled. _Ok, time to eat._ I wasn't very close to the ShadowClan border yet, but I didn't mind. It wasn't near sunset yet, or even sunhigh. I had all the time in the world.

This time, with the birds making such a racket, it was pretty easy to find some prey. I stalked along silently, not wanting to have to pursue my meal. I found a sparrow on the ground, pecking and hopping along. I pounced on its back and dug my claws in. I knew that this prey was likely to fly away, so I had to take precautions. I bit its neck and it died, a bit more slowly than I had hoped. I didn't want the creature to be in pain for any longer than it had to.

I thanked StarClan and started to eat. I pulled off the creature's feathers, knowing how unpleasant they were to get stuck in your teeth. Then I bit into its flesh, enjoying the wonderful taste of sparrow. _I wish it was a rabbit, but it'll do._

I started walking again, a bit hurriedly now. I realized that there could be a cat just lurking at the border, and I could talk to them. Or there could be a hunting patrol that I could talk to. The earlier I got there, the more opportunities for me to talk to a ShadowClan warrior.

I found myself at the border, met by a barrage of scent markings. The dawn patrol must not have been very far ahead of me with how strong these scent markings were. I recognized some CaveClan warriors, and one apprentice. I could smell a bunch of ShadowClan cats, but none of them were cats I knew.

I heard the familiar rustling of a ShadowClan cat marching through the grass. I sat down and waited patiently for the stranger cat to appear, hoping they would be friend and not foe. I couldn't smell them through the border, so I had to wait until they showed themselves. Maybe it was that she-cat again, but maybe it was Adderheart.

Finally, a head popped out of the grass. I let out a sigh of relief when it wasn't Adderheart coming to pick a fight. I didn't want any blood shed today. I recognized the face pretty quickly as Ambermist, my friend. "Hi, Ambermist Why are you here?"

She smiled at me, one of the biggest smiles I had ever seen. It reached her eyes and her ears were perked; her tail was held up high. "I talked to Foxstar!"

I was surprised by that. Or, by her reaction to having talked to Foxstar. He didn't seem like a leader who would be open to my opinion, but her expression hinted otherwise. "What did he say?"

"Well, he said that Breezestem had talked to him, too. She's a she-cat, she's very pretty."

I nodded. "I think I've met her. I came here yesterday and talked to a patrol."

"Yeah, then you probably did. Anyways, he said that the rest of her patrol- except Adderheart, but he's a jerk- had talked to him about your plan. And that he was considering it! He said that if I could convince enough cats then he would. And Breezestem is helping me! So we've convinced a whole bunch of cats, and we're almost there."

"Wow! I never expected to actually convince ShadowClan of anything. Graystar, my leader, really likes my idea. He's already agreed to merge if I could convince enough cats, and I already did that. I had to convince a whole bunch of cats for RiverClan and ThunderClan, and most of them agreed right away to merge with you. They don't mind ShadowClan."

"Yay! I can't wait to tell Foxstar that you have permission too. You do, right?"

"Well, I'd have to ask Graystar one last time, but probably. As I said, he likes my plan."

"Then go get permission, I'll wait here. I don't have anything planned today, since I'm way too young to be a mentor."

"Ok, sure!" Her mention of mentoring made me think. I was getting to be a decent age to be a mentor, so I could be chosen any day. I almost hoped I wasn't. I wasn't sure if I was good enough to mentor an apprentice, and I didn't have much time off from my plan. But I thought Graystar would know that.

I ran all the way back to camp, wanting to get there before sunset. I could handle another late night, but I didn't much want to. I knew it shouldn't take me very long to reach camp, but my legs were a bit sore from all of the running I had done already.

I burst into camp, trying to catch Graystar's scent. I couldn't smell him outside of the camp, so he probably hadn't left. _He's in his den._ I could smell him there, and I darted over to him. "Graystar I need to ask you something."

He poked his head out of his den. "What is it?"

"If ShadowClan agrees to merge, we're going to merge, right?"

"Yeah. Of course. Otherwise I wouldn't be sending you out!" He stared at me intently for a little bit, sniffing my fur. "Go tell your friend."

"Thanks, bye!" I ran off again, my legs burning. I hadn't been this tired in a while, but I could deal with it. My goal was so close I could smell it, so I could handle any amount of sore muscles.

I reached the ShadowClan border when the sun was almost completely set, and it was very dark. I could smell Ambermist now, but with the border I wasn't sure if her scent was fresh or stale. "Ambermist?"

"Yeah? Did he say we were good?"

"Yep! If ShadowClan agrees, CaveClan will officially merge."

"Yay! I gotta get back to camp. Nice seeing you!"

"You too. Bye." She ran off and I did the same, wanting to reach camp before moonhigh. I was sore and tired, and I could very well be going through all of this tomorrow.


	33. FINALLY

**Silverflower**

I had to go to the ShadowClan border again today. I figured Ambermist would probably want to meet me again, and if she didn't she would probably think I wanted to meet her. Odds were she would be there, very possibly waiting for me. I didn't want her to have to wait long, so I left as soon as I woke up.

My muscles were still a little sore from all of the running yesterday, but I could deal with it. I started off towards the border at a run, figuring I may as well rush into the pain head-first instead of slowly intensifying it. I almost regretted my decision, since my muscles were burning before I was halfway there. But I didn't. I was almost halfway there, after all.

I knew I would have to eat sometime, so I decided I may as well do it now. I stopped my run, hoping my short break would rejuvenate my muscles enough that the pain would stop being so bad. I had almost caught a mouse when I realized a terrible mistake I had made.

I wanted today to be the day we finalized our merge with ShadowClan. That would involve the leaders here with us. I had made it halfway to the border without a leader. I was frustrated at myself, but also thankful that I had remembered now rather than later. It would've been far more awful if I reached the border just to turn around.

I ran back to camp, thankful that I had stopped to hunt. My muscles weren't nearly as sore as they used to be, so the run was much easier than I had expected. I crossed the territory, relishing the feeling of the wind in my fur. Even if running made me sore, it had wonderful feelings that came with it as well.

I reached the camp rather quickly, and I dashed in. Once again, there had been no evidence of Graystar leaving the camp. I worked my way towards his den, sniffing all the while. Much to me surprise, he wasn't there.

"Silverflower, I thought you had left!"

I turned to the voice to see Graystar coming out of the nursery. A new set of kits must've been birthed. Judging by the look on his face, they were his. "I did, but I came back because you need to be there today."

"Sorry, I can't go today. I have kits to watch over."

This would be tricky. I had to convince him to leave his kits behind for a day. Luckily, Graystar had a tendency to be quite the pushover. "The kits will stay in the nursery all day today, Graystar. They were just born," I guessed. For all I knew these days, they could be weeks old. "And besides, this is a monumental day for our Clan. We might finish merging!"

He sighed. "All right." He poked his head into the nursery, and while I couldn't make out what he was saying, I guessed it was his deepest apologies for having to leave his kits. Graystar sure would make a good father. "Let's go."

We trotted off again, this time at a much easier pace for me to hold. Graystar was slow compared to me, so while he was running his fastest, I was meandering along somewhat leisurely. Of course, I tried to make it look like it was hard for me to run at this pace in order to help Graystar's pride, but it wasn't.

My stomach was rumbling now, and I remembered that I had failed to secure any prey. Graystar was still running his fastest, regardless of the fact that he heard me. I knew he had, since his ears twitched. Since my legs and sides already hurt, I decided I could live with my stomach hurting too, and I just kept running.

When we reached the border, Ambermist leapt out to greet us. She nearly crossed the border in her excitement, and I had to remind her that we weren't merged yet. "Hi, Ambermist!"

"Hi!" Her voice was barely audible, she was breathing so heavily. "I ran. All the. Way here. I forgot. Foxstar needed. Had to grab. Didn't want to be late."

"Ah. Well, we're here now. Graystar and Foxstar are the main thing necessary here so..." I glanced at Graystar.

"Go off and play. Ambermist has permission to come on our territory," Graystar meowed.

"Thanks!" Of course, I wanted to dart off. My run with Graystar had barely winded me. But Ambermist was near exhaustion, so we just walked away slowly.

"Sorry about that, I had to run my fastest. But now I have my breath." She sat down, grooming herself. "Anyways, Foxstar said that we could discuss the merge today. If all goes well, ShadowClan will be happy to allow you- and the rest of your Clan- onto our territory. Only when necessary, or probably when a certain few cats feel like it, but you'll be allowed all the same."

I smiled to myself, and I knew that I must look like an idiot to Ambermist. I didn't even say anything for a while; I was juust thinking about how close I was to finishing my plan and bringing the forest together. "Great! Then we'll be able to visit more often," was all I could manage for the moment.

Ambermist gasped. "I hardly even thought about that! I was so worried about hunting and everything. And one less possible attacker. But yeah, I could visit! Foxstar said you would probably be allowed to visit whenever, at least."

I nodded. "That was what Graystar said about you. I'm one of few cats now allowed to go on ThunderClan, RiverClan, WindClan, and CaveClan territory whenever I please. Soon you should allowed to go on CaveClan and ShadowClan territory whenever you so choose."

"Yay! ShadowClan territory was getting boring."

"You know, CaveClan isn't all that great. We hardly have any landmarks."

She shrugged. "It has to be better than ShadowClan! We have to use a rock as a marker!"

"So do we! We just call it 'the big rock on the border.'"

She laughed. "Well, at least our rock has a name. It slips my mind, but it does have a name."

"I trust you. By the way, are you hungry? I skipped breakfast."

She smiled. "I'm starved! I didn't eat before I left, but I felt rude asking for prey on your territory. What do you have here, anyways?"

"Mostly mice and shrews, but some voles. If we're really lucky we'll get a rabbit, but those are pretty rare over here."

"I love voles! They're the best. Do you have a lot of them?"

"They're pretty plentiful. Let's go hunting!" I led her to one of the best places to hunt voles, hoping to catch her favorite meal. I didn't mind voles myself; they were probably the best thing other than rabbits. Except fish, which I had never tasted. "Do you know how to hunt voles?"

"Of course," Ambermist retorted with mock anger. "It's not hard."

She quickly proved herself right, catching a vole while still looking at me. I wasn't quite that good at hunting, but I knew how to show off without doing anything. I climbed my way up a tree and jumped onto a vole's back- one that had just been in a pond. She gasped, and I chuckled slightly. I quickly killed the vole and dragged it over to her. "You're right, it's not."

We thanked StarClan and ate quickly, both of us devouring our prey in a couple bites. I turned to her and licked my lips, then spoke. "We better get going soon. Foxstar and Graystar are probably almost done talking."

She nodded. "Let's see how it went."

We slowly made our way back to the meeting. We didn't talk much, both of us thinking intently. I don't know what she was thinking about, but I was just hoping the meeting went well. I could imagine a hundred ways it could go wrong, and only a few ways it could go right.

Graystar and Foxstar turned around when we approached them, both of them smiling. "Welcome back, Silverflower," Foxstar started. "And welcome to being able to go on ShadowClan territory."

I had to hold myself back from squeaking. It had gone right, and we had merged! I had finally completely my long-standing plan; I had finally achieved my dream. "Yay! Thanks _so_ much!"

"You already know the drill," Graystar continued. "You can go on ShadowClan territory whenever, and all the cats that initiated the merge on their side can come on our territory whenever. Other than that, we'll go mostly when necessary."

I figured that he was saying that more for Ambermist than for me. Ambermist then spoke up. "Am I counted as one of the initiators?"

"Yes," Foxstar confirmed. "You were, after all, the first one not to chase Silverflower away."

She and I looked at each other and smiled. We were merged, and now we could see each other whenever. Foxstar and Ambermist smiled and ran back to their camp, and I figured they were going to tell everyone. Graystar ran off as fast as he could to get back to camp- and his kits- but I just walked back slowly. Now I had all the time in the world.


	34. Complete

**Silverflower**

I exited my den, and to my surprise it was nearly sunhigh. I hadn't slept this late in moons. I was going to ask Graystar if I could go to ShadowClan territory, but then I realized I had almost no reason to do so. I had unified the forest, and now I had no idea what to do with my life.

Of course, I would still hunt and protect the Clan. That much was obvious; the Clan was my life. But that all seemed rather pointless. I would be useful for the present, but nothing else would ever last. Sure, we would starve. I knew that was good. And I wouldn't starve. But why even bother being alive if I have no reason to live?

Don't get me wrong, at that time I wasn't considering killing myself. I was just wondering what I should do. I had spent so long living this plan, that I didn't know too much about the rest of my Clan. Of course, I went on hunting patrols, and I knew our territory quite well from all of my running. But I didn't have very many friends to protect; only Flowerfur, my mother, and cats from other Clans. I didn't even have a mate, or anyone I wanted to be my mate.

So, I figured out what question I should ask. I wasn't going to ask Graystar, since it wasn't his problem. But Flowerfur usually had some good answers if I ever needed them. I started sniffing around the camp to find her, but I could only catch some very stale scents.

I figured that she was on a patrol, so I would just wait. I didn't want to sit around doing nothing, so I decided to do some hunting. I wasn't hungry at all, to my surprise, but the Clan could probably use some fresh-kill. I decided to go hunting near the ShadowClan border, just in case Ambermist wanted to talk to me.

I slowly made my way over, trying to smell prey as I went. I didn't know what Ambermist and I would talk about is we saw each other, and I had to be able to get back to camp quickly to reach Flowerfur, so I wasn't even sure I wanted to reach the border. I saw a rabbit, and made my decision.

I knew from past experiences that I couldn't just chase the rabbit. I would have to stalk it slowly, trying to get so close I could account for the fleeing in my jump. I had no idea whether or not I would be able to catch it, seeing as I had never caught one on my own. But it was worth a try.

I crept up to it, as silently as I knew how. Its ears didn't twitch and it didn't flee, so I figured it couldn't hear me. Rabbits were very flighty; if anything was wrong it would instantly dart.

I kept going until I was about a tail-length away. The rabbit still didn't leave. This was the closest I had been to a rabbit since the last time I had eaten one, so many long moons ago. I was getting really excited to finally be able to eat my favorite prey again.

I planned my leap, adjusting since the rabbit would run once my shadow was over it. I sprung up from the ground towards it, and it fled. However, it fled directly to where I thought it would. I landed on its back and killed it quickly. With how fast a rabbit could run, it could probably hurt me if I didn't kill it fast.

I turned back towards camp, dragging the rabbit along in my mouth. It was heavy, so it would take me longer than normal t get back. I didn't mind that. It meant the Flowerfur would be more likely to be there when I arrived.

As I walked, I planned what to say. I didn't want to sound like I was crazy, or I had no will to live. I wanted to be alive and help my Clan, but that didn't seem like a good enough reason to stay alive. It sounds weird, but it was true. So I had to plan out exactly what I would say before I reached her. I couldn't just say "Why should I live," because that would make me seem insane. But I could say "What is there to do now that the forest is unified?"

When I finally reached camp, I deposited my prey on the fresh-kill pile. I was a bit disappointed that I wasn't hungry enough to eat the rabbit that I had caught, but somebody else could have it. Maybe Flowerfur had even caught another one.

I sat down and waited. I had caught enough prey to feed two or more cats, so I was allowed to be a bit lazy for the rest of the day. I waited and waited, and finally saw Flowerfur enter the camp. I ran up to her with great speed, crossing the camp in seconds. "Flowerfur, I need to ask you a question."

She smiled. "I figured you would come today. A bit bored, now that you aren't running from territory to territory?"

I nodded. "What should I do now, now that my plan is complete?"

"I think I have an idea. Wait here, I need to talk to Graystar."

"Ok, thanks." She trotted off and I just sat down and waited. I figured whatever she was doing, she had a plan. I didn't have anything else to do, anyways. I could've gotten some fresh moss for the elders, I guess, but I really wanted to see what Flowerfur was doing.

After talking to Graystar for a while, Flowerfur finally emerged from his den. I looked at her anxiously and asked, "Well? What is it?"

She looked at me mischievously. "You'll have to find out, won't you."

I sighed. "All right. When should I know?"

"Later tonight. You chose the right day to complete your plan."

"Ok, thanks." I had no idea how I could choose the right day, seeing as most things around here could happen any day. It wasn't like our deputy had died or anything.

I decided to do something useful while I waited, so I ran over to Daisystem, the medicine cat. "Hey, Daisystem, are there any herbs that you need?"

Daisystem walked over to her stores and said, "Well, I guess I could use some more marigold. Why do you ask?"

"Flowerfur has a surprise for me, and I need to keep myself occupied while I wait for it. If you'd like, I'll get you some marigold."

She smiled. "Thanks! It looks like this," she said as she pushed a marigold stem towards me. "You can find them around the pond."

"Great, thanks!" I darted off towards the pond, happy to have something to do. I quickly reached the right area, and called the image of marigold back into my mind. _Now, where would that be around here?_ I tried to remember the scent of the stem, and was barely successful. I could smell it near the pond, so I tracked it down and grabbed a mouthful.

I trotted back to camp when the sun was setting. I dropped my marigold in Daisystem's den. "Here you go!"

"Thanks, Silverflower!"

"No problem." I walked off to find Flowerfur and ask her about the surprise again, when Graystar called a camp meeting. _What is this?_

I walked over to the gathering spot and sat down. I had no idea what was going on, but I figured it was probably something good. I saw a kit waiting by his mother with the rest of the cats, despite the fact that you were supposed to be an apprentice to attend these meeting, and realized what the meeting was for.

 _Cherrykit is going to become an apprentice! I wonder who her mentor will be._ I watched the kit more intently than I watched Graystar, interested in how antsy she was. _Was I like that during my ceremony?_

Graystar said the regular ceremony words, and I was finally hit by what Flowerfur's surprise was. "Silverflower, please step forward." I looked at Cherrykit, trying to be as encouraging as Flowerfur was to me. Graystar continued the ceremony.

"Silverflower, you have shown great skills at peacekeeping and you know how to be convincing without a fight. I trust you to pass these on to your apprentice."

"I will, Graystar!" I leaned forward to touch noses with Cherrykit. The kit- almost an apprentice- touched me so delicately it took me a second to process that she had actually touched me. Graystar looked at us for a second, and then continued.

"I hereby pronounce you Cherrypaw!"

"Cherrypaw! Cherrypaw! Cherrypaw!"

Cherrypaw and I walked away from the gathering area, and she just stared at me. "So, you're my mentor? Aren't you, like, a legend?"

I grinned. "I'm just a warrior. Are you hungry?"

She nodded. "What kind of prey do we have?"

"Well, one warrior happened to catch the best prey on the territory today. Let's eat some rabbit and then discuss your training, ok?"

She nodded again. "What does rabbit taste like?"

"Rabbit is one of the most wonderful things in the world. Rabbits are rare, but when you get one, it's amazing. Let's eat." I dragged the rabbit off of the fresh-kill pile. "Here, you can have the first bite."

She bent down tentatively and bit the rabbit. She chewed slowly, and then swallowed. "That _was_ great!"

I nodded. "Of course!" I might not have a giant plan anymore, but I could handle my life being slightly less exciting. Flowerfur had made a wise decision in my surprise. I could do something else that would last. Maybe Cherrypaw would do something amazing for the forest. After all, she had the mentor for it.

I thought about my achievements in life as we ate. I had done pretty well, if I did say so myself. I had found my brother in Twolegsplace, and learned a lot about outsiders. I had brought the Clans together, and now I could be a mentor. My life was complete.

* * *

 **I finally finished my story. It feels amazing to finally be able to click "complete" on my first real story. I hope you like the ending, I tried my best to tie it up nicely.**

 **Also, I'm considering doing a Hunger Game SYOT. Do you think I'm a decent enough writer to do so? I don't want people to pour their hearts into characters and then have me write them terribly, so if I don't characterize well or something I want to know. Thanks, ~SilverflowerxRavenpaw**


End file.
